Curveballs
by Jane Torres-Cooper
Summary: Charlotte and Cooper are starting a family. But life has a funny way of making the unexpected happen. I'm awful at summaries. Please Read and Review!
1. Chapter 1

Life likes to throw curve balls. In fact, I think it's what it enjoys the most. It likes to throw a completely unexpected thing at someone and laugh while they try and deal with it. There comes a point in life when people have just given up on trying to avoid curveballs because they accept the fact that they're going to keep getting them anyway. I have reached that point. When I first married Cooper I thought everything would get smoother, but no I got assaulted, which I would rather not go into detail about, and now this. I am pregnant. Now I know that Cooper and I decided two months ago that having a kid wouldn't be so bad, but I didn't think it would happen so soon. I just found out this morning and I have no clue how to tell Cooper. So step one, confronting the curveball. I brushed my teeth to mask the unpleasant smell of my breakfast making it's second appearance and walked out of the Practice's employee bathroom. Cooper is sitting in his office when I walk in.

"Hey Char." He said without looking up from his newspaper.

"Hey Coop. Can I talk to you?" I asked. Cooper sat down his newspaper.

"Yeah. Of course. What's up?" He asked.

"Cooper, I'm pregnant." I said. Sugar coating wouldn't get me anywhere so I decided to just tell him flat out. Cooper smiled.

"Char that's great." He said excitedly. I nodded.

"It's all happening so quickly." I said. Cooper nodded.

"Yeah it is, but I'm glad either way." He said. I nodded.

"Me too." I decided. Cooper smiled and kissed me.

"I love you Char." He said and put a hand on my stomach.

"I love you too Coop. Hey, don't go telling the whole world yet okay?" I warned and walked out of his office. I ran into a very frustrated Addison.

"Hey." She said stiffly as I approached her.

"You okay?" I asked.

"Yeah, just these freaking hormone shots. They've got me all emotional. It's crap." She said as we began to walk to the kitchen.

"So is the IFV not going well?" I asked. Addison shrugged.

"No. And neither is the Sam thing. Therapy yesterday was awful." Addison said. I followed Addison into the kitchen. She grabbed a club soda out of the fridge and went to get a glass.

"Addison are you okay?" Violet asked. Addison nodded.

"Yeah, I just skipped breakfast." she said. Sam came in looking annoyed. Next thing I knew Addison was on the floor. Sam knelt down next to her. She was still conscious but you could tell she was in pain.

"Don't move. Someone get Jake and call an ambulance." Sam said. Violet called an ambulance and went in search of Jake. I helped Sam with Addison.

"Sam." Addison whispered. Sam pushed Addison's hair out of her face.

"It's okay Addie. You're going to be okay." He said. Addison nodded slowly. After they had loaded Addison into the back of an ambulance Cooper came out of his office with Mason. I smiled.

"Hey Coop." I said and placed a kiss on his cheek. Cooper grinned.

"Hey Charlotte. Mason and I were just on our way to get some tacos. Would you like to come?" Cooper asked.

"I would absolutely love to, but I need to go over to St. Ambrose and check on Addison." I said. Cooper looked at me funny.

"What happened to Addison?" Cooper asked.

"She just collapsed in the kitchen." I said.

"Oh my God. Let me know okay?" He asked as Mason pulled him off.

"Okay Coop. See you tonight." I said. Cooper nodded. I made my way toward my office and ran into Violet.

"Charlotte, good morning. I'm just on my way to see Addison. Want to come?" Violet asked. I shrugged.

"Sure, I was going to get my keys but I guess we'll just carpool." I said and followed her into the lobby. The elevator ride was short and quiet. Just the way I liked it. Way too many things had happened in the elevator and I had no desire to make any more memories, especially memories that might involve Violet. She was just a little too shrinky for me. The hospital was bustling like always and after I slipped on my lab coat it seemed to be even crazier. Addison's abdomen had filled with fluid, which was a rare side effect of the IFV. Sam was shaken up, anyone could see that, but he refused to let Addison know it. Men could be so self-righteous sometimes. Cooper came into the hospital two or three hours later after I had just had a particularly long day filled with drama.

"Hey Char." He said and kissed me. I grinned.

"Cooper, I'm at work." I said and straightened his tie. Cooper grinned and pulled a paper bag from behind his back.

"I brought you a raspberry filled doughnut." He said. I smiled and took the bag from him.

"Cooper! You shouldn't have!" I said. Copper grinned.

"Well I wanted one and I figured I should get you one too. Cause I' just that nice." He said.

"No you just want sex." I said and took a bite. Cooper grinned.

"That too." He said and planted a kiss onto my cheek. "So, how is Addison?" He asked.

"She's going to be just fine. It was a complication from the IFV." I said and finished off the doughnut.

"That's good." He said.

"Yep. So, are we going to stand around an make small talk or are you going to take me home and make love to me?" I asked.

"Second option. Man I love pregnant you." He said and we walked out of the hospital together.


	2. Chapter 2

**Okay, so I know that I've gotten some reviews about Mason and how he shouldn't be in this story so I have decided to get rid of him. I need some help deciding on what to do. If you have any ideas please review. But until then Mason will be in the story until I can decide how to get rid of him. Also, let me know if you think Charlotte should have twins or not and what the gender should be. Thanks for reading!**

* * *

><p>I woke and found that Cooper wasn't in the bed anymore. I sighed and sat up. I rubbed my eyes and swung my legs out of bed. I got a quick shower and got dressed. I found breakfast sitting out on the table with a handwritten note.<p>

_Sorry, I got called to the hospital for an emergency. I made you breakfast though. Enjoy, eggs just the way you like them with my amazing bacon. I love you! See you later today. Lunch? _

_Love, Cooper. _

I grinned and ate the breakfast. The bacon wasn't that great, but I wasn't going to tell him that. When I arrived at the practice Addison was back already. She smiled at me.

"Hey. Charlotte." She said and sipped her coffee.

"Are you allowed to be back already?" I asked. Addison nodded.

"Jake said it was okay. Just no surgeries." She said. I nodded.

"Well I am glad you are back." I said. Addison smiled.

"Me too." She said. We went our separate ways. Cooper was in his office reading the newspaper when I walked in.

"Hey Coop. How was the emergency?" I asked sitting down on his desk. He put the paper down.

"Good. We saved him." He replied leaning in to kiss me. I smiled when our lips touched.

"Thank you for breakfast." I told him. He smiled.

"So you liked it?" He clarified. I nodded.

"It was very good, but it needed Orange Juice." I said. Cooper smiled.

"My bacon was epic right?" He asked. I grinned.

"Mhm very." I said.

"You're lying Charlotte King." He said. I grinned.

"What? Me? Lie? Never." I said. Cooper smiled.

"I love you Charlotte King." He said and kissed me again. Someone knocked on the door frame. I turned around Mason was standing in the doorway.

"Hey Charlotte." He said. "Dad can we go to the store and get some candy?" He asked. I got off Cooper's desk.

"What did you get on that math test?" Cooper asked.

"A 90." Mason said.

"Fine. If you make higher than a 95 on your next test you can get some cards next time." Cooper said and led Mason out of his office. I sighed and plopped down on the couch in Cooper's office. The pregnancy still seemed surreal to me. I couldn't believe in eight months Cooper and I would be parents. I didn't even know what I would name it. I didn't have a boy name or girl name picked out. I know most girls have their kids names picked out from the time they turn thirteen, but I had never really wanted kids until I'd met Cooper. Maybe something like Bronner for a boy and Kylier for a girl? I was so lost in thought I didn't even hear Addison enter the room.

"Oh hey Charlotte, I was looking Cooper, do you know where he is?" She asked. I nodded.

"Yeah, he went to the store with Mason he should be back soon." I said. Addison nodded.

"Thanks. Are you okay?" She asked. I sighed. I might as well tell someone, and if I was going to tell anyone at the practice it would be the OB. Plus Addison was my friend.

"Yeah. I'm just pregnant." I said. Addison sat down next to me.

"Are you sure? Like did you get some blood work done?" She asked. I shook my head.

"No." I said.

"Come on, I have time. Just a quick blood test. I wont do the ultrasound today. I'm sure you'll want Cooper at the first one." She said and stood up. I nodded and stood up. I followed her into an exam room and she took some blood. "I'll go run this. You can go to your office or wherever and I'll just page you when the results come in." She said. I nodded and pulled my sleeve down over the band-aid. I ended up falling asleep on the couch in my office. Addison woke me up a few hours later.

"Oh, hey." I said and sat up. Addison smiled.

"It's official! You're pregnant." She beamed. I smiled.

"Thanks Addison. Has Cooper come back yet?" I asked.

"Yeah, he went over to the hospital though." She said. "Listen you can come in, two weeks from today and I'll run an ultra-sound okay?" Addison said as I pulled on my coat. I nodded.

"Okay thanks Addison. Now I have to meet Cooper for lunch." I said and walked out to the elevator. I found Cooper at the Nurse's station looking over a chart.

"Hey Char." He said without looking up.

"What's up Coop?" I asked sensing something was wrong.

"This little boy, he's got no one. His parents just dumped him here and he's got cancer." Cooper said. I kissed him.

"I love how you're so attached to your patients and you always want to help them." I said. Cooper smiled.

"I want to adopt him." He declared.

"Cooper. He has cancer and in a eight months we're going to have a kid of our own. Are you sure?" I asked.

"Char. I've never been more sure about anything except for the day I married you. Just think about it okay?" Cooper asked. I nodded.

"Fine. But you owe me some Chinese food." I said. Cooper smiled and kissed me.

"I can do that." He said and led me out of the hospital.


	3. Chapter 3

**I've been thinking hard about where to go with this story and I have decided Mason will not be leaving. I got some amazing advice from a particular reader and I think they are right. This is my story and I shouldn't change anything to please anyone. I'm sorry if this sounds harsh, and I understand if you don't read any anymore. But the reader is right. So Mason is staying. On a happier note I am still open to suggestions on the baby or babies gender and number. I hope you will continue to read and review. You have no idea how much reviews mean to me. Thanks and enjoy the next chapter!**

* * *

><p>A week later I still began each day the same awful way, losing my breakfast. Work wasn't much better. As soon as I got there Cooper would start nagging me about the kid he wanted to adopt. I'd met the kid and Mason liked him. But did we really need three kids? The boy was about Mason's age, 8 or 9. He was really cute. God I don't know. I found Cooper in the kitchen reading a newspaper and eating cereal.<p>

"Couldn't have ate at home?" I asked sitting down next to him.

"I did eat at home. I'm eating again." He said. I smiled.

"You never cease to amaze me." I said.

"Good. Keeps life exciting." He said. I smiled bigger. "Have you thought about Trenton?" He asked. Here it was.

"Yes." I said.

"And?" He asked.

"I don't know yet Coop." I said. Cooper nodded.

"It's okay Char. Take your time. I love you no matter what." He said.

"Don't play that card. It wont work." I warned and got up. Cooper grinned.

"It was worth a shot. Oh hey, listen, I was going to take Mason out for dinner tonight. Is that okay?" He asked. I nodded.

"Yeah. It's fine. Where are we eating?" I asked.

"Not sure yet. I'll let you know so you can meet us there." He said. I nodded and left the kitchen. I went over to the hospital to check on a patient that was dealing with a law suit. You know the annoying kind of stuff that the Chief of Staff has to deal with. I found myself checking on Trenton while I was there. He was a cute kid, and he really did need a family. But even if it was only stage one he still had leukemia. I don't know if it is wise bringing a kid like that into a family that already has it's fair share of complications. I mean we really were quite the dysfunctional family. Mason was Cooper's but not mine and I was pregnant. I sighed and stuffed my hands into my lab coat pockets. He needed someone and we were perfectly able, but I don't think I could handle a sick kid. What if he died and Cooper had gotten really attached? What if I got attached and then he died? It would be like big daddy all over again. I don't know if I could handle that again. I stared at Trenton through the glass doors. He was asleep and peaceful. You know minus the oxygen tube and all of the wires of course.

"Hey Charlotte." Addison said and leaned against the nurse's station next to me.

"Addison." I acknowledged.

"He's a cute kid." She remarked gesturing to Trenton. I nodded.

"Very. Cooper wants to adopt him." I said.

"Do you?" She asked.

"I don't know. I don't know if I can handle it. In eight months we're going to have a baby. I don't know if I can handle Mason, a kid with cancer, and a baby." I said. Addison nodded.

"That's a lot to handle." She agreed.

"What would you do?" I asked. Addison shrugged.

"I think I would adopt him. But that's just me." She said. I nodded.

"Yeah. This is way to freaking stressful." I said running my hands through my hair.

"Hey, take it easy, you do not needed to get stressed out. It's bad for the baby." She warned.

"I know I know." I said. Addison smiled.

"Look whatever you do, make sure it's in everyone's best interest." She said and walked off. I sighed. Addison was right and I knew what I had to do. I decided I would tell Cooper my decision at dinner tonight.

* * *

><p><strong>Okay so i know it's short, but i wanted to get the chapter up before I went to school. Please Review and let me know what you think Charlotte should do and what the baby or babies should be. I will take your imput into consideration but I make the final call. Thanks so much for reading. Please Review!<strong>


	4. Chapter 4

**Okay. Despite some rather rude reviews I have gotten I am continuing this story. I am also not going to change my writing style. If that bothers any of you, I'm sorry. No one is forcing you to read. I don't mean to sound like a witch here, but enough is enough. Now I am sorry if my writing doesn't please you, but like I said no one is forcing you to read. Now, enjoy! (:**

* * *

><p>I walked into the small Chinese restaurant Mason had picked out. The smell of fried rice almost made me want to gag. Mason was laughing and playing with his chop sticks. Cooper was playing right along with him. I smiled and approached them. Cooper looked up.<p>

"Hey Char." He said. I sat down next to him.

"Cooper. I have something I want to tell you." I began. Cooper nodded.

"Dad. I'm going to go to the bathroom." Mason said and left to give us time.

"I want to adopt Trenton." I said. Cooper grinned.

"That's great Char." He said happily. I smiled and we kissed.

"When can we sign?" I asked.

"Well they have to screen us and all this junk and if they approve then we can have him." Cooper said.

"Did you already file?" I asked suspiciously. Cooper glanced around.

"Yesterday." He confessed.

"Cooper!" I exclaimed. He shrugged.

"I couldn't let him die alone!" He defended.

"When do they screen us?" I asked.

"Friday." He said.

"This Friday?" I asked.

"Yep." He said.

"What time?" I asked.

"Two." He said.

"Cooper our appointment is at ten. You got lucky." I said as Mason returned to his seat.

"You know I have to be back by eight right?" Mason asked. Cooper nodded.

"I know bud." He said. Mason picked up his chopsticks and began to eat his rice. I turned my nose the other way to avoid the barf factor.

"Coop. I should go." I said and stood.

"Why?" Cooper frowned.

"I need to finish up some stuff at the hospital." I lied. Cooper nodded.

"Okay see you later Char." He said. I smiled and kissed him before walking out of the building. Once outside I breathed in the fresh air and the nausea died.

Friday

Cooper and I walked into the practice together. We separated at the nurse's station.

"See you in two hours." He said. I nodded. Addison came over to me carrying several charts.

"Hey. You're still coming at eleven right?" Addison asked. I nodded.

"Yep. We'll be there." I said. Addison nodded and turned to leave. She turned quickly back around.

"Don't you have the screening with the social worker today to see if you get Trenton?" She asked. I nodded.

"At two." I said. She smiled.

"Well good luck. I called the adoption agency today, I applied for a baby." She said. I smiled.

"Well good for you." I said. "I hope it works out for you." I said. Addison nodded.

"Me too. But anyway, see you in two hours." She said and walked off. I smiled. Sam came by.

"Hey Charlotte. Good luck today. Trenton's a good kid. I hope you get him." He said.

"Thank you doctor Bennett." I said. Still hadn't forgiven him for being a jerk about Addison wanting a kid. I grabbed a chart from the desk and made my way to my office. My phone went off almost as soon as I sat down. I answered.

"Charlotte King speaking." I said.

"Dr. King. We need you at the hospital immediately. It's Mason and Erica." Dr. Shepherd said. I pulled on my coat and got there as soon as I could. Mason was being stitched up by a couple of doctors but perfectly fine. Just a broken arm and a few cuts on his face. His mom had died in brain surgery and he was not taking it well. Cooper was sitting next to him explaining that she had a tumor that had caused her to pass out behind the wheel and there was nothing they could do for her. Mason seemed to understand but the kid had still just lost his mother regardless. I entered his room after the doctors had left.

"Mason. I know that you haven't known me very long, so if there are any relatives that you would rather live with you can. Okay bud?" Cooper said. Mason nodded.

"I want to live with you dad." He said. Cooper nodded.

"Okay bud. We can do that. But you know Trenton?" Cooper asked. Mason nodded.

"Well, he's going to live with us too." I said. Mason nodded.

"Trenton's cool. But I thought he lived in the hospital." Mason said confused.

"No. He's only here because he's sick and there is no one to take care of him." Cooper explained. Mason nodded.

"Make sure you tell my aunt that I don't want to live with her. I want to live with you." Mason said. Cooper nodded.

"I will." He said. "Do you want some food?" Cooped asked. Mason nodded. "Okay bud. I'll be back." He said and left. Mason sighed and leaned back onto his pillow. He tilted his head up toward the ceiling and a single tear slid down his cheek. It turned into sobs. I went over to him and lifted his upper body up. I slid my arms around him and held on tight.

"Shh. Mason. It's going to be okay. I've got you. We've got you." I soothed and stroked his hair.

"Thank you Charlotte." He choked out. I smiled and continued to hold him until he fell asleep. Cooper came in with some food a few minutes later. I was still curled up holding the sleeping Mason. Cooper sat the food down on the tray and sat down on a couch. He put his head in his hands and cried. My pager went off and I quickly silenced it.

"Coop. It's Addison. I have to go. Page me if anything happens with Mason." I said. Cooper nodded. I carefully sat Mason back on the pillow and walked out of the room. I arrived at the practice ten minutes after eleven. Addison didn't seem mad at all that I was late. She was just waiting patiently.

"Hey Charlotte. I am so sorry about Mason." She said. I nodded solemnly.

"Me too. I love that kid, I never wanted this to happen to him." I said and laid down on the table. I pulled up my shirt for Addison and she began the ultra sound.

"There's your baby. It looks very healthy." Addison said. I smiled. Cooper and I had made life. It was all surreal to me. How could we have created something so perfect? When we were just ordinary people who make mistakes.

* * *

><p><strong>Please Review! I love getting imput on how you think the story is going. (:<strong>


	5. Chapter 5

Cooper and I had just gotten done with the screening and Cooper was annoyingly optimistic.

"We so got him Char." He said for the one hundredth time.

"Coop. You don't know that." I reminded him as we walked into the hospital.

"So?" He asked.

"I don't want you to get your hopes up. We may have not gotten him." I said as we rounded the corner and walked through the double doors that led into the Pediatric Ward. Cooper rolled his eyes.

"Whatever Char. You'll see." He said and entered Trenton's room. Trenton was fast asleep. His face was flushed and beaded with sweat from his fever.

"How's he looking Coop?" I asked.

"Not so good. His fever went up." He said sadly. I sighed and pushed Trenton's hair out of his eyes. I kissed his forehead, he wasn't mine yet, but that didn't mean I didn't like the little guy.

"Come on. Let's go check on Mason. See if he can be discharged yet." I said. Cooper nodded.

"Good idea. See if he ate too." Cooper said and followed me out of Trenton's room. Mason was watching TV when we came in. He looked up at us when we came in.

"Hey dad. Hey Charlotte." He said. I smiled.

"Hey Mason." I said.

"Did you tell my aunt yet?" Mason asked Cooper. Cooper nodded.

"Yes." He replied.

"What did she say?" Mason asked.

"She said it was okay for you to live with us." Cooper told him. Mason nodded.

"Good. She's nice and I've known her since I was born, but I want to live with you." Mason said. Cooper nodded.

"I know bud. And you can. I'm going to go talk to the doctors about letting you go okay?" Cooper said. Mason nodded.

"Okay dad." He agreed. Cooper smiled and walked out of Mason's room. I sat down in a chair next to Mason's bed. "Charlotte, is Trenton coming home today too?" Mason asked.

"No. He can't leave yet. The adoption agency hasn't given him to us yet." I said. Mason nodded.

"When will they?" He asked.

"I don't know kiddo. Trenton's really sick right now anyway." I said. Mason sighed.

"Why does everyone have to be sick?" Mason asked. I sighed.

"I don't know kiddo. I don't know." I said. Mason stared up at the ceiling.

"Do you believe in God Charlotte?" Mason asked. I nodded.

"Yes. I do." I said.

"Why does he do all of this to us?" Mason asked.

"I don't know. He's testing us to see how strong we are." I said. Mason nodded.

"So if you die does that mean you aren't strong enough?" Mason asked. I shook my head.

"Not at all. My father was not weak and he died. Dying is just a fact of life. Everyone dies at some point. Some just go earlier then we'd like them to." I said. Mason sighed.

"I'll be strong." He declared after a few minutes of thinking. I smiled.

"Yes you will." I said. Mason smiled.

"You know Charlotte, you're really great. Cooper told me you were pregnant. I'm going to have a little brother or sister." He beamed. I smiled.

"Yes you are. Do you want to see a picture?" I asked. Mason nodded. I pulled the images Addison had given me earlier and showed them to Mason.

"It's so tiny!" He said.

"Well, it has a lot of growing left to do." I said. Mason grinned.

"Trenton and I are going to be great big brothers." He decided. I smiled.

"I think you will too." I agreed. Mason smiled and fiddled with his cast. It was blue and empty. Not a single signature. I dug in my purse and pulled out a silver sharpie. "Do you mind if I sign that?" I asked. Mason shook his head.

"Go for it." He said. I smiled and wrote Charlotte on his cast. He smiled. "Thanks Charlotte." Cooper came in.

"Okay Mason. Ready to go?" Cooper asked and unhooked Mason's IV. Mason nodded.

Two weeks later

"Mason! Come on kiddo. Time for school!" I yelled. Mason ran down the stairs. His once blank blue cast was cluttered with signatures. Cooper came down stairs behind him looking agitated. Mason ran outside to await the bus.

"Trenton's throwing up again." Cooper said sadly and grabbed the cup of coffee I was offering him.

"Poor kid. Is he improving at all?" I asked.

"Well his scans look a lot better, the chemo is just really getting to him." Cooper said.

"But the cancer is going away?" I asked.

"Appears to be." Cooper said.

"Well that's great news!" I said.

"Yeah. His white count is really going up. Just, his body does not keep food down well with all that chemo." Cooper said. I nodded.

"Hey listen, next week is the ten week ultrasound. Are you coming?" I asked. Cooper nodded.

"Uh duh. It's our kid. Of course I'm coming." Cooper said. I nodded.

"Yeah. It's just last time things didn't work out so well." I said. Cooper nodded.

"I know and I'm sorry." He said.

"It's not your fault Coop. It's nobody's." I said. Cooper nodded.

"Yeah. You're right. Listen I have to go in today. Okay? You going to be okay with Trenton? Call me if anything happens." Cooper said.

"Okay. Coop. I will. I got this." I assured him. Cooper kissed me on the cheek and was about to leave when I stopped him. "Hey Coop." I began.

"Yeah Char?" He asked.

"Don't forgot Mason has an appointment with the orthopedic doctor today. Do you need me to take him?" I asked.

"If Trenton isn't throwing up then yes. If Trenton is still throwing up I'll come take Mason so you can watch Trenton." Cooper said.

"Okay. Bye Coop. I love you." I said. Cooper smiled.

"I love you too Char." He said and slipped out the door.


	6. Chapter 6

I walked up the stairs to Trenton's room. He was curled up on his side groaning.

"Hey bud. How you feeling?" I asked.

"Not too good." He replied quietly. I climbed into bed next to him and pulled him in close. I stroked his hair until he fell asleep. After I made sure he wasn't waking up anytime soon I slipped out of his bed. I smiled and went downstairs to my bedroom. I got a quick shower and made myself some breakfast. Which I instantly regretted. Almost as soon as I was done with my eggs and toast I lost it. Trenton came into the bathroom.

"Charlotte?" He asked sleepily.

"Hey bud." I said and flushed the toilet.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

"Yeah bud. It just comes with being pregnant." I assured him. Trenton nodded.

"Charlotte, am I going to die?" He asked.

"What? Baby why would you think that?" I asked.

"I have cancer. People die from cancer all the time." He said. I nodded.

"Yes that's true people die from cancer all the time. My daddy died from cancer. But you are getting stronger. Cooper said you were getting increasingly better." I said. Trenton nodded.

"Do you miss your dad Charlotte?" He asked. I nodded.

"Every day bud. Every day." I said. Trenton nodded.

"I miss my daddy too. But Cooper is great." He said. I nodded.

"Cooper is pretty great." I agreed. Trenton smiled.

"And Mason is really cool. I'm glad that God gave me you as my new parents." Trenton said. I smiled and hugged him.

"I'm glad he gave you to us too. Why don't you go upstairs and put some sweats on and we'll watch cartoons?" I suggested. Trenton nodded excitedly and left the room. I brushed my teeth and went out into the living room. I sat down on the couch and waited for Trenton to come back down. He appeared five minutes later in his soccer sweats and a star wars t-shirt. He sat down next to me and I put my arm around him. He leaned his head on my stomach and I flicked the TV on to Cartoon Network. It wasn't long before Trenton was asleep and despite my best efforts to stay awake I soon found myself drifting off. I woke up and Trenton was gone. I heard someone throwing up. I went into the upstairs bathroom and found Trenton leaned against the wall looking miserable. I felt his forehead.

"I'm sorry bud. Your fever spiked." I said sadly. Trenton heaved a great sigh.

"I figured as much." He mumbled miserably.

"I'm going to call Cooper okay?" I said after checking his temperature. Trenton nodded.

"I'll be here." He joked. I sighed and left the bathroom. I dialed Coopers number and waited a while before he answered.

"Charlotte what's wrong? Is everything okay?" Cooper asked.

"Trenton's fever spiked and he's just throwing up liner." I said.

"Okay, give him a Finagrin and some water. If he doesn't keep the Finagrin down then bring him into the ER." Cooper said. I nodded.

"Okay." I said.

"Everything's going to be okay Charlotte." He assured me. I nodded.

"I know." I said.

"Okay. I have a patient. I'll take Mason in though okay? Trenton needs you right now. I'll get Mason." Cooper said.

"Okay. Bye Coop." I said. Cooper hung up. I walked back into the bathroom. Trenton was leaned against the wall with his arms around his knees shaking violently.

"Charlotte." He managed, I could tell he was scared and definitely dehydrated. I helped him up.

"Come on bud, we're going to the hospital." I said. I called Cooper after I had loaded Trenton into the car.

"Charlotte? What's wrong?" He asked panicked.

"Trenton is dehydrated I'm bringing him in." I said. Cooper sighed.

"Okay. I'll see you at the hospital." He said.

Two hours later

Trenton was back in Peds, the had decided to keep him for a while on fluids. Mason had gotten a bad report at the orthopedic doctor and was in a lot of pain and a longer cast. Today was just not a good day for the Freedman-King family. Mason was passed out in a chair near Trenton's bed and Trenton was out too. Cooper came in with a coffee for me. I took it gladly.

"This is not going to be easy." I sighed. Cooper nodded.

"The best things in life come with a little hard work." He said.

"You are not a philosopher Coop." I said. Cooper frowned.

"I'm trying my best here." He pouted. I laughed.

"I love you." I said. Cooper grinned.

"I love you too." He said and kissed me. He put his arm around my shoulder and led me over to the couch. I leaned my head on his shoulder and closed my eyes. His scent filled the air and I smiled. Before I knew it I had fallen asleep.

* * *

><p><strong>Sorry it's so short. I really wanted to get a chapter up before I went to school. Hope you enjoyed! Please Review (: <strong>


	7. Chapter 7

Dr. Reynolds the pediatric cancer specialist came into Trenton's room the next morning looking discouraged.

"I have some bad news." He began. I gripped Cooper's hand. "Trenton's leukemia cell count hasn't gotten any better since before the last round of chemo." He said.

"But it hasn't gotten any worse?" Cooper asked. Dr. Reynolds nodded.

"No worse. Just not better." He said. I nodded and looked at Trenton. He was fast asleep.

"So what do we do?" I asked.

"Well, we keep trying chemo." Dr. Reynolds said. I nodded.

"When will you do his next round?" I asked.

"When his body heals some. He's still pretty sick from the last round. We need to wait until he's stronger. I'd like to put in a feeding tube, it will help his body get stronger quicker." He explained. I glanced at Trenton. A feeding tube? Just the thought made me want to cry. Cooper squeezed my hand.

"Charlotte?" He asked. I looked at him. He was smiling comfortingly but I felt no comfort.

"What?" I asked.

"What do you want to do?" He asked.

"Whatever is best for him." I said. Cooper nodded.

"Do the tube." Cooper said. I gripped his hand tighter.

"I cant be here for this." I whispered. Cooper nodded.

"Okay. You take Mason home, I'll stay here." Cooper said. I nodded. I went over to Mason and gently shook him. He slowly opened his eyes.

"Charlotte?" He asked sleepily.

"Hey kiddo. Time to go home." I said. Mason sat up.

"Is Trenton coming?" He asked. I shook my head.

"No bud. He's going to be here for a while." I said. Mason sighed and got up.

"Bye dad." Mason said and followed me out to the car.

Seven weeks later

Sixteen weeks. I was Sixteen weeks now. Trenton was home again and actually doing a lot better. Mason was out of his cast and things were looking a little better. I was showing, and the morning sickness was gone. So it was like I had swapped the two extremes. Cooper kept arguing wither or not it was a girl. Which he strongly believed it was. He wanted to name it Faith if it was a girl. Which to me, I'm not going to name my child Faith because I don't really go to church a lot. You know, so why name a child Faith? So I settled the issue and told him that it could be our kid's middle name if we have a girl. He agreed. I had an appointment with Addison that morning and hopefully I was going to see what the sex was. Addison had started dating Jake after Sam had sort of left her. I entered Addison's office and found her laying on the couch with a bucket. She looked like she had been throwing up, and the room's smell was evidence of that. She had a box of crackers, a bottle of medicine and a bottle of water sitting on her coffee table. I knocked on the door frame and she looked up.

"Hey Charlotte." She said weakly. I sat down next to her feet on the edge of the couch.

"You look awful. You need to go home." I insisted. Addison shook her head.

"No. I cant, it's time for your appointment anyway." Addison said and stood up. She looked nauseas for a minute then she straightened her skirt and led me into an exam room. I laid down and pulled my shirt up over my bump. Addison squirted the gel on to my bump and moved the radar around. She smiled at me but I knew she still wasn't feeling good.

"Addison you really should go home." I said. Addison shook her head.

"I'm not sick Charlotte." She said.

"Addison you were throwing up." I said.

"I'm not sick, I'm pregnant. Apparently my dried up uterus likes Jake's sperm." Addison shrugged.

"Have you told him?" I asked. Addison shook her head.

"No." She replied.

"You should tell him." I encouraged.

"Nu-uh." She replied. Addison scrunched her eyes up and looked at the ultra sound closely.

"Something wrong?" I asked.

"Yeah. He's got amniotic bands around his right foot." Addison said.

"Well what does that mean? Wait a minute, it's a boy?" I asked.

"Yes, it's a boy. I can go in now and surgically remove it, it's risky this early in the pregnancy, but I'm afraid if we wait it will cut of the circulation and it might loose it's leg." She said. I nodded.

"So when would you do the surgery?" I asked.

"Well I can fit you in at two if you'd like. That would give you five hours to tell Cooper and the kids and do some stuff. Just no food and you'll need to be there at one." Addison said. I nodded.

"Two sounds good." I said and cleaned my stomach off. I stood up and pulled my sweater back over my bump. Cooper was waiting for me in the kitchen.

"Hey Char. What's wrong?" He asked.

"Our baby boy isn't even born yet and he already has medical problems." I said choking back tears.

"What are you talking about?" He asked.

"Our son has an amniotic band wrapped around his right leg." I said.

"What are they going to do?" Cooper asked.

"I have a surgery at two, Addison is going to go in and cut it. She said it was really risky but if we waited he'd loose his leg." I said letting the tears come. Cooper pulled me into a hug and held me. He stroked my hair.

"Everything is going to be okay Char. Everything is going to be okay." He repeated. He picked me up bridal style and carried me into his office. He laid me down on his couch and sat next to me. I leaned my head on his shoulder and let my tears come freely. Cooper continued to stroke my hair.

"It's okay Charlotte, every thing is going to be okay. I'll never let anything happen to you or our baby." He whispered in my ear and I felt my eyes close.


	8. Chapter 8

**I know that this is short, but when you have to go to school, well you have to go to school. And nothing gets me through a school day like checking my email during French and having reviews. (: I promise I'll have a longer chapter up next. Enjoy! (:**

"Charlotte." Cooper's voice interrupted my dreams and I slowly opened my eyes. Cooper's face was inches from mine and his warm breath fell steadily onto my neck. I sat up.

"What?" I asked.

"Time to go." He said. Addison came in.

"Ready Charlotte? I was just going to give you a ride over there when I went." Addison said. I nodded and kissed Cooper on the cheek. I stood and followed Addison to the deck to check out. Naomi was leaned against the station talking to our receptionist. She smiled at Addison and I when we appeared beside her.

"Jason, we're checking out for a while. Well Charlotte is for a while. I'll be back around five." Addison said. Naomi turned to look at us.

"Wow, Charlotte! You look great. Addison told me about everything." Naomi said.

"What are you doing here Naomi?" I asked.

"Oh Addison wants me to be her OB." She replied. I nodded.

"I see. Well, shouldn't we go do this?" I asked Addison. Addison nodded.

"Yes, we should. I'll see you later Nai. Come to my house at seven and we'll watch movies." Addison suggested. Naomi nodded.

"It's a date." She said and walked off.

"Come on Charlotte." Addison said. I followed her out to her car. I like to thing of my self as fearless, but as I sat in Addison's car on the way to the hospital to have surgery preformed on me, I'd never been more scared in my entire life. So many unhappy things kept happening to our family that all I could think about was what if I died? Or what if I lost the baby? Every surgery had risks, if anyone knew that I did. I mean he was only sixteen weeks and didn't even have a name yet, but regardless I knew that if I lost him I wouldn't be able to live with myself. And if both of us died where would Cooper, Mason, and Trenton be?

"Charlotte? Charlotte can you hear me?" Addison's worried voice broke into my thoughts. I turned to her.

"Sorry. Just lost in thought." I said. Addison nodded and turned onto the street that runs to the hospital.

"You're worried I can tell." She said.

"It's not that you aren't an amazing surgeon. It's just you know every surgery has risks." I said. Addison smiled.

"I know, it's okay to be worried." Addison said and pulled into her spot. She killed the engine and grabbed her lab coat and cell phone.

"You ready?" She asked. I nodded.

"Sure." I said. Addison smiled and stepped out of the car. I put a hand on my stomach said a silent prayer and followed her into the hospital.

"Okay. Room 210 Charlotte, and I'll have an intern get you all set up then I'll come get you. Okay?" Addison said. I nodded and made my way to room 210. After a few minutes an intern came in a hooked me up then he left. Cooper came in before Addison.

"Hey Char. It's so weird seeing you in a bed." He said. I nodded.

"It feels weird." I agreed. Cooper took my hand.

"Everything is going to be okay. Mason and Trenton and I will be here waiting for you on the other side." He said. I nodded. Addison knocked on the door frame.

"Ready to go Charlotte?" She asked. I nodded.

"Yeah, the sooner the better." I joked. Addison smiled and walked along side my bed while her intern pushed me down to the OR. Being inside an OR as a patient was the weirdest thing ever. The anesthesiologist but the mask on.

"Alright Charlotte, you know how this works." Addison said. I nodded.

"Ten, Nine, Eight, Seven, Si-x, Fi-ve." I managed and then darkness engulfed me.

**Cliffhanger! (: What happens to Charlotte? Review please and tell me how you think the story is going! **


	9. Chapter 9

I woke up and Cooper was asleep in a chair.

"Cooper." I said. Cooper stirred.

"Charlotte?" He asked.

"Yes Cooper." I said annoyed. Addison came in.

"Hey Charlotte. Nice to see you awake." She said.

"How did it go?" I asked.

"He's doing great and so are you." She said. I smiled.

"Good. Anthony is a fighter." I said.

"Anthony?" Cooper asked.

"Yeah. You like it?" I asked.

"I love it." Cooper said and kissed me.

"It's cute." Addison agreed. "So I'm going to keep you a few days to monitor you and make sure no complications surface." She said. I nodded.

"Okay." I agreed. Mason ran in.

"Hey Charlotte!" He said excitedly. Trenton ran in behind him.

"Trenton don't run." I warned.

"But mom, I feel fine." He whined.

"I know you do kiddo but you still have cancer your body isn't strong." I said. Trenton crossed his arms angrily and flopped down in a chair. Addison smiled.

Six weeks later

Anthony was going to be a handful. I just knew it. It was like he was having a soccer match in my stomach twice a day. Trenton ran into the room and jumped on my bed.

"Trenton what have I told you about running?" I asked.

"No to do it." He said shamefully.

"That's right. Are you ready for your appointment?" I asked.

"No. I don't want another round of chemo." Trenton whined.

"Trenton you have to kiddo. Dr. Reynolds said this could be your last round. Then you'll only have to have treatment every five months." I said. Trenton sighed.

"Why did I have to get cancer? How come Mason doesn't have it?" Trenton asked.

"I don't know kiddo." I said and sat up in bed. Trenton sighed.

"Fine. Come on then. I have an appointment." Trenton said impatiently. I laughed.

"I thought you didn't want to go?" I asked jokingly.

"I want to get it over with." Trenton said annoyed. I got out of be and got dressed. I fixed Trenton a waffle and drank my coffee while he ate it. Then we loaded up and went to the hospital. Cooper was waiting up for us in the Pediatric Cancer ward. They hooked up Trenton to an IV and started the chemo. Trenton pulled out his DS and played it while he waited for the treatment to end.

"Will you be okay here for a while kiddo? I have to go talk to Aunt Addison." I asked. Trenton nodded.

"I've got my game." He said. I smiled and kissed him on the forehead before walking out to find Addison. I found her outside the OR.

"Charlotte. Trenton here for his treatment?" She asked. I nodded.

"Yeah. You ready?" I asked. Addison nodded.

"Yep. I have a surgery in an hour so we have to make this quick." Addison said. I nodded.

"And I have to get back to Trenton." I said and sat down on the table. I laid down and pulled my t-shirt up over my stomach. My scar was still prominent from where Addison had to go in.

"Not exactly the best stretch mark to have." Addison commented. I smiled.

"No. But it's worth it." I said. Addison showed me the screen.

"There he is. Looks good. Anthony is quite a fighter." Addison commented.

"Yeah. He's like his daddy." I said. Addison smiled.

"Yes. He is." She said.

"So how is your pregnancy?" I asked.

"Uh, it's twins." Addison said.

"What?" I asked in disbelief.

"Yeah. My dried up uterus REALLY liked Jake's sperm." Addison said. I nodded.

"Yeah. That's an understatement. I did notice you were kind of showing already.

"Oh my gosh. I know! It's so weird." Addison agreed.

"So how did Jake take the news?" I asked.

"He wants to get married. I don't want to get married to him." Addison said. I nodded.

"Yeah, that could make things tricky." I said.

"Well I'm going to raise them alone. You know unless some really fine guy decides he wants to get into a relationship with a woman who has twins." Addison said. I smiled.

"Anything can happen." I said. Addison laughed.

"Yeah to lucky people." She said.

"Well. You're pretty lucky. I mean you did get pregnant with twins." I said. Addison smiled.

"Yeah, that's true." Addison agreed. I pulled my shirt down over my bump and stood up.

"Thank you for your time." I said and left. Trenton was asleep when I got back up to the treatment room. I smiled. He looked so peaceful. I was not looking forward to the fact that he would be feeling sick within the next two hours. I liked Trenton so much better when he was feeling bouncy and wild. Every time he had another round of chemo it was like he turned into a sick old man. It was heartbreaking. I sat down in a chair next to him and he stirred. His eyes slowly opened.

"Mommy?" He asked.

"Hey Kiddo. How are you feeling?" I asked.

"Cold." Trenton said. I pulled a jacket out of his bag.

"Here you go kiddo. Nice and toasty." I said and wrapped the jacket around his shoulder. I pulled him in tightly and rested my chin onto the top of his head. Next thing I knew we were both asleep.


	10. Chapter 10

I had seen him before, I think he was a friend of Addison's. But I couldn't figure out what the heck his name is. Violet came up to me.

"Morning Charlotte. What the heck is Mark doing here?" She asked.

"That's his name!" I exclaimed.

"Yeah, you remember his daughter Sloan?" Violet asked.

"Oh yeah, she had the same surgery I had." I said remembering the blonde. Addison walked up to us reading a stack of charts.

"Morning guys." She said not looking up from her charts.

"Addison?" Mark asked spotting her. Addison's head shot up.

"Mark?" She asked in disbelief.

"Oh my God your pregnant. I'm such an idiot! It's Sam's isn't it?" Mark asked.

"Uh yeah, ten weeks, and no they aren't Sam's." Addison said.

"Who's are they?" Mark asked.

"Jake's and I'm not with him." Addison said. Mark smiled.

"Good because I have to tell you something. I can't stop thinking about you. Every time I walk by the NICU I imagine you standing there. I can't take it anymore. Addison I have to be with you. I can't live without you. I need you Addie, I need you more than anything in the world. I need you as much as I need air." Mark said. Addison smiled.

"I love you so much." She replied quietly. A smile spread slowly across Mark's lips. He kissed her passionately.

"Come on Addie. I want to show you something." Mark said and pulled her off.

"Wow. If that didn't fall out a movie then movies have changed a lot in the past month." Violet commented. I laughed.

"Yeah, that was quiet dramatic." I agreed.

"But so incredibly hot." Violet said.

"Mhm. I wish Cooper would say something like that to me." I mused.

"Say what?" Naomi asked appearing next to us.

"Mark and Addison are back together." Violet said.

"What? Mark is here?" Naomi asked. I nodded.

"In the flesh." I said.

"Holy crap. Wow." Naomi breathed. Sam came over.

"Why is Mark making out with Addison?" He asked. I glanced behind me at Addison's office. Yeah, they were doing some serious lip locking.

"Oh, they're back together." Violet said simply.

"I see. When did he get here?" Sam asked.

"Oh maybe twenty minutes ago." I answered.

"Wow, that was quick." Sam said.

"Well after what he told her, I'd be back with him in a heartbeat." Violet said. Pete walked up.

"Violet, can I talk to you?" Pete asked. Violet nodded.

"Yeah sure." Violet said and followed Pete. Cooper came over to me. He planted a kiss on my cheek.

"Hey Char." He said.

"Cooper do you want something?" I asked.

"Nope. Just to see you." Cooper said.

"Mhm. I don't know if I believe you." I said.

"Ha. Ha. Ha. Oh, Trenton's in the nurse's office at school. Apparently he's been throwing up. I'm going to go pick him up." Cooper said. I nodded.

"Okay. I knew sending him to school the day after chemo was a bad idea. That kid just cant be told no though. Why did he want to go so bad?" I asked.

"He has this crush remember?" Cooper asked.

"Oh yeah. Melanie right?" I asked. Cooper laughed.

"Yep. That's her." He agreed.

"Alright. See you at home. Love you." I said. Cooper grinned.

"Love you too Char." He said.


	11. Chapter 11

Cooper had brought Trenton to lie down in my office so he could continue to work. Trenton's bag of Valentine's were thrown on the floor next to the couch, along with his green backpack. A bottle of Sprite and a TV remote sat on the coffee table. Trenton was curled up in a tight ball with a blanket thrown over his shivering body. He had his book thrown carelessly on the floor next to a bucket for him to throw up into.

"Hey buddy. How are you feeling?" I asked.

"Like crap. I'm used to it." Trenton said.

"Did Melanie like your Valentine?" I asked.

"She doesn't even know. I was going to give it to her and well I threw up." Trenton said.

"Oh I'm sorry kiddo." I said and sat down by his feet. He sat up and I wrapped my arms around me.

"No girl could ever love a sick kid like me." He said sadly. I smiled.

"Kiddo you know that isn't true. Cooper and Mason, and Anthony, we all love you." I said.

"No offense mom, but you're way too old for me." Trenton said. I laughed.

"I see your point, but you won't always be sick kiddo." I said.

"How do you know?" Trenton asked.

"Because I just know. It's a mother's instinct." I said. Trenton sighed and grabbed his bucket. I rubbed his back while he threw up and then made him drink some sprite.

"I wish I was normal." Trenton sighed.

"You will be some day kiddo. I'm going to make you some Chicken Noodle Soup. Sound good?" I asked. Trenton nodded. I smiled and ruffled his hair before leaving the room. Addison smiled at me as she walked by. Mark was close behind her. He nodded politely on his way by. When I walked into the kitchen Violet and Pete were making out.

"Oops. Sorry Charlotte." Pete said.

"Do the words public place mean anything to you two?" I asked annoyed and grabbed a can of chicken noodle soup out of the cupboard.

"Yes they do, I said sorry did I not?" Pete smirked. Violet blushed.

"I'm sorry Charlotte." She said and scooted away from Pete. "How's Trenton?" Violet asked. I poured the soup into a bowl.

"He's really sick. That stupid chemo." I said and stuck the bowl into the microwave.

"Yeah. Chemo's tough on someone. Especially the littler people." Pete said. I nodded.

"Definitely." Violet agreed.

"I just hope this was his last round." I said and punched in two minutes and thirty seconds on the microwave.

"Yeah. Poor kid." Pete agreed. Trenton walked into the kitchen with a blanket wrapped around his shoulders.

"Mommy I feel really shaky." He said. I pulled him into a hug and stroked his hair.

"I know kiddo. I'm sorry. Did you drink some more Sprite?" I asked.

"It just made me throw up even more." He said.

"I know kiddo, but you have to stay hydrated. Did you drink it all?" I asked. Trenton nodded. I went to the fridge and pulled out a club soda. I went into the cupboard and pulled out a bottle of Finagrin medicine. I gave Trenton one and he took it with the club soda. "Go lay down and drink as much as you can." I told him. Trenton nodded and walked off with his club soda. Violet smiled sympathetically.

"Poor Trenton." She sighed. My stomach took a nasty turn and I suddenly felt nauseas. The microwave went off and I pulled the chicken noodle soup out. The smell hit my nose and I lost my breakfast all over the counter, in the process I managed to drop the bowl and have it shatter on the floor.

"Shoot!" I said angrily. Violet came over to me while Pete cleaned up my mess. She felt my forehead.

"Charlotte you're burning up." She exclaimed.

"That's ridiculous. I'm fine." I insisted.

"Obviously you aren't. You just threw up." Violet said. Mark and Addison came in. Mark went to help Pete and Violet and Addison led me to an exam room.

"I'm fine." I insisted when Addison started running an ultrasound.

"I don't believe you. Anthony is fine, but you are not." Addison said after she found Anthony's heartbeat to be strong.

"I'm fine." I insisted again. Addison took my temperature.

"102. 4 is not fine. Violet call Cooper." Addison ordered. Violet nodded and left.

"It's just the stomach virus." I said.

"That being so I want to admit you until it passes. It's not good for Anthony." Addison said.

"Admit me? Seriously? Over a stupid little stomach virus?" I asked outraged.

"It's different since you're pregnant." Addison said. I sighed. Cooper busted in.

"Charlotte? Are you okay? Addison is she okay?" He asked frantically.

"She's just got the stomach virus but I want to admit her until she gets over it so we can make sure Anthony is still getting the nutrients he needs." Addison said.

"It's insane. I don't need to be admitted." I protested.

"I agree with Addison Char. Just to be safe. I'll take Trenton home. Page me when you get her in a room." Cooper said and left. I rolled my eyes.

"Thanks a lot Montgomery." I huffed.

"Anytime Dr. King." Addison smirked. Addison drove me over to St. Ambrose and admitted me.

"I still think this is ridiculous." I said as an intern finished my IV. Addison grinned and scribbled something onto my chart. Cooper came in to see me later.

"Hey Char." He said and flopped down into a chair.

"Everything okay Coop?" I asked.

"Mason got sick." Cooper said and rubbed his eyes.

"How bad is he?" I asked.

"He's not bad at all." Cooper said.

"Temperature?" I asked.

"100. 2" Cooper recited.

"How often?" I asked.

"Twice every time he eats." Cooper replied. I nodded.

"Okay, so he isn't that bad. How about Trenton?" I asked.

"He's been out cold ever since you gave him the Finagrin." Cooper replied. I nodded.

"Good. Poor kid needs some rest." I said. Cooper nodded.

"Yeah. He's tired, but we're going to get through this. Remember Dr. King?" He asked and climbed into bed with me. He wrapped his hands around my bump and stuck his chin on my shoulder.

"I love you Cooper." I said.

"I love you too Charlotte." He whispered. My eyes slid closed and I slipped into a dream.


	12. Chapter 12

Have I told you how much I really hate hospitals? The white walls the insane belief that if you are in a hospital you cant do anything for yourself. I had the flu, not some life threatening disease. I could use the dang bathroom by myself. Addison refused to let me go home until I stopped throwing up. Mason, Trenton, and Cooper were all at home sick. Yes, Cooper had managed to get himself sick. Addison came into my room with my chart.

"Addison, can I go home now?" I asked.

"That would be a negative Charlotte. The nurse said you threw up this morning." Addison scolded.

"You have got to be kidding me. It's just the stomach virus Addison." I said. Addison smiled.

"Regardless. Anthony has already had one surgery I don't want to take the risk of him becoming nutrient deprived." Addison said. I sighed and flopped back down on the bed.

"I really don't like you right now Montgomery." I said angrily. Addison laughed.

"I think I can live with that." She said. I rolled my eyes.

"You're so lucky that you're too valuable to fire." I said.

"Are you threatening me so I'll let you go home?" Addison asked.

"Maybe." I said. Addison laughed. A nurse pushed in a sonogram machine.

"Thank you." Addison told the nurse who smiled and left. "Come on you know the drill." She said. I sighed and pulled my gown up. Addison ran an ultrasound. "Anthony looks great." Addison said. I nodded.

"So can I go home?" I asked.

"Charlotte." Addison warned. I sighed.

"I hate you." I said. Addison smiled.

"No you don't." Addison smirked and left the room.

Week later

Addison walked into my room. She looked absolutely drained and exhausted.

"Morning Charlotte." She said sleepily.

"Addison you look terrible." I commented.

"I think I've picked up the stomach virus." She said.

"Better get admitted I'd hate for them to become nutrient deprived." I said smugly.

"Ha ha ha." Addison said sarcastically. "You can go. Just try not to get sick from Mason and Cooper." She said and unhooked my IV. I smiled and left. When I got home the place was a mess. Cooper was passed out on the couch. His forehead was wet with sweat and his hair stood up in random places. I sighed sympathetically and went to check on the boys. Mason and Trenton's room smelt disgustingly of vomit and sweat. Mason was curled up on his bed snoring. Trenton was huddled in a corner on the end of his bed staring intently at the wall. I went over to him.

"Hey kiddo. How are you feeling?" I asked.

"Better." He said. I felt his forehead. He didn't have a fever anymore.

"Why don't you go get a shower? It'll make you feel good as new and I'll clean up a little bit. Sound good?" I asked. Trenton nodded and got some clean clothes out. Then he disappeared into the bathroom. By the time he was done with his shower the room was spot less. He came back in looking a lot better. He tossed his dirty clothes into his poke ball shaped laundry basket and flopped down on his fresh bed sheets.

"Thanks mom. I feel loads better." He said.

"Good. Go watch some cartoons in mine and your dad's room okay?" I asked. Trenton nodded and ran off. I smiled. I was glad that someone else wasn't sick too. I went back out into the kitchen and cleaned up. Then I went into the living room. After I was done I went into my bed room and watched some ridiculously stupid cartoons with Trenton. I fell asleep there. I woke up to a loud crash coming from outside. I shot up in bed. Trenton was gone. Shoot. I ran outside and found him laying on the grass by the bottom of the oak tree holding his elbow and screaming. I ran over to him. His face was tear stained and scrunched up in pain.

"I'm sor-ry mommy." He said between sobs.

"What the heck were you doing in a tree?" I asked.

"I was climbing it because I was bored." He said.

"Trenton you know you're too weak." I scolded.

"I wanted to be superman like Cooper." He said sadly. I smiled and got him to sit up. He continued to hold his elbow.

"You are superman." I said. Trenton smiled despite his pain.


	13. Chapter 13

**Okay so keep in mind I am not a medical genius so this might not be completely accurate. Enjoy (:**

Trenton refused to let me touch his elbow. Cooper came running outside.

"Charlotte what happened?" He asked sleepily.

"Superman over here was climbing the tree and fell." I said annoyed and tried to get a look at Trenton's elbow.

"What branch did you fall from?" Cooper asked.

"I don't remember." Trenton said. Oh no, he probably had a concussion. Cooper glanced at me worriedly.

"Trenton we're going to take you to the hospital to get an x-ray of your elbow okay?" I said. Trenton nodded. I helped him get to his feet. He stumbled clumsily and I caught him. Cooper picked him up bridal style and carried him out to the car. He sat him down in the backseat.

"I'll stay with Mason. Call me if anything's wrong." Cooper said. I nodded.

"Okay. Get some rest Coop." I said and climbed into the driver's seat.

"Mom, my head hurts." Trenton complained when I turned on the engine.

"I'm sorry kiddo. We can have the doctors look at it when we get to the hospital okay?" I asked. Trenton nodded. I pulled onto the highway. "How's your arm?" I asked a few minutes later. I received no reply. "Trenton?" I asked. Still nothing. I turned around. Trenton was unconscious. I rushed to the hospital. Sam met me in the ambulance bay. He picked up Trenton and ran him inside. He sat him down on a gurney. Amelia came down and ran a neuro exam.

"His pupils are out of whack I need a head CT. What happened Charlotte?" She asked.

"He fell out of that tall tree in the backyard. He complained he had a headache and he couldn't remember how high up he was. Then on the way here to get an x-ray on his elbow he just passed out." I explained.

"You didn't see him fall?" Amelia asked.

"No. I woke up to screaming." I said. Amelia nodded. Sam looked over his abdomen and chest.

"We've got some nasty bruising on his right side. Probably a few broken ribs. He must have been pretty high up there. Trenton opened his eyes suddenly and gasped in pain.

"Trenton kiddo it's okay I'm here." I soothed. Amelia came over to him and ran another Neurological exam.

"Do you still have a headache?" Amelia asked. Trenton nodded.

"My side and shoulder hurts more." Trenton told her.

"We can get you some morphine after we run some scans okay?" Amelia told him. Trenton nodded.

"Hurry." Trenton pleaded. Amelia smiled.

"Dr. Adams, take Trenton up to CT stat." Amelia ordered her resident for the day. Dr. Adams was average height and evenly toned. Basically he was tall dark and handsome. He absolutely loved Ortho. Cooper ran into the hospital with Mason behind him.

"Where is he?" Cooper asked. Mason flopped down in a chair. Naomi came over to him and took care of him.

"He went up to CT and x-ray with Dr. Adams." Amelia said calmly.

"What do you think it is?" Cooper asked Amelia.

"It could be a number of things." Amelia said.

"That isn't what I asked." Cooper said.

"Well first he's got a few broken ribs and his elbow is definitely at least fractured." Sam said.

"I suspect a brain bleed." Amelia said.

"So if it is he'll need surgery." I said.

"Yes, to stop the bleeding, and then we'll have to have him on an IV of antibiotics not to mention we'll need to have him on diuretics." Amelia said. Two minutes later we had Trenton's scans back.

"Three broken ribs and a severe right supracondylar humerus fracture with complete displacement of the fracture fragments." Sam mused. "We can have Dr. Adams work on stabilizing it while Amelia fixes his brain bleed." Sam said. I nodded.

"Sounds like a plan." Amelia said. "Let's take him up." She said. Dr. Adams ran in.

"Dr. Shepherd. He's seizing." He said. Amelia ran after him. I looked at Cooper and saw the fear in his eyes.

"He's going to be all right." Cooper said and wrapped his arms around me. Dr. Reynolds came in with Trenton's blood work.

"Dr. Freedman, Dr. King I know this isn't the best time but I need to speak to you about Trenton's cancer cell count." He began. I squeezed Cooper's hand.

"Okay." I agreed.

"There is no medical explanation but the cancer cells are completely gone. His cancer is gone." He said in astonishment. I don't know why or what caused me to, but I kissed Cooper. Maybe it was the fact that I was so overjoyed. Cooper grinned.

"Sorry about that." I apologized. Dr. Reynolds smiled.

"It's quite alright." He said smiling. "I'll be praying that he recovers from his fall quickly. Have a wonderful life guys." He said and left the x-ray room.

"We should probably go wait in the actual waiting room with everyone." Cooper decided. I nodded.

"Yeah. Where did Naomi go with Mason?" I asked.

"She took him into an empty hospital room and is sitting with him while he sleeps." Cooper said. I nodded.

"I always like Naomi." I said sleepily. Cooper smiled.

"Come on. Addison, Pete, Violet, Jake and Sheldon are in the waiting room." Cooper said. I sighed and held hands with Cooper as we walked down to the waiting room. I plopped down next to Addison and laid my head on Cooper's shoulder. He wrapped his arms around me and held me.

"I'm scared." I whispered.

"Me too." Cooper sighed and laid his head on top of mine.


	14. Chapter 14

It had been two hours since they had taken Trenton back and if I wasn't worried before I was definitely worried now. No one had said anything except Mark when he had gotten up to get coffee and asked if anyone else wanted something. I was too worried to even think about a coffee or anything else for that matter. Addison insisted he get me a snack though. Cooper hadn't let go of my hand the whole time and even though it was sweaty and gross by now I wasn't letting go of the only thing that seemed sound. Mark came back in juggling four coffee's and a bag of potato chips. He handed me the chips and passed out the coffee's. I just held the chips and didn't open them.

"Charlotte, you need to eat. For Anthony." Addison pleaded. I sighed and opened the bag which regrettably meant letting go of Cooper's hand. I finished them quickly and tossed the bag into the trash can that was sitting near Cooper in case he had to throw up. Then I took Cooper's hand again. He smiled encouragingly at me but I knew he was just as scared as me. Finally Amelia came in. I sat up straighter.

"I got the brain bleed to stop and started him on an IV of diuretics and anticonvulsants. Everything looks good. The swelling wasn't as bad as I thought so he should fully recover of course we won't know until he wakes up." Amelia reported. I loosened my grip on Cooper's hand. Dr. Adams cleared his throat.

"Sorry, I'm the one to blame for how long this took." He began. "Trenton's radius and ulna had completely separated from his elbow so it took several plates and pins to get it aligned and stable. He'll need to be in a cast for probably four months." Dr. Adams told us. I nodded.

"Thank you." I said. Dr. Adams smiled.

"Your welcome. You can go see him, he still wont wake up for a few hours but you can go sit with him. If you'll follow me." He said. Cooper and I stood and followed Dr. Adams into Trenton's room. His head was shaved and wrapped in white gauze. That was something I would have to get used to his hair had always been so long. His arm was in a cast with the sides cut open to allow swelling. It was in a complex sling so he wouldn't move it when he was asleep or awake for that matter. They had him hooked up to a ventilator which scared me more than anything. I went up to his bed and took his good hand. Dr. Adams left to give us some time alone.

"He must have been really high up." Cooper observed.

"How does a tree do so much damage?" I asked in disbelief.

"He must have landed just right." Cooper said sadly.

"Poor kid. Nothing has ever gone right in his life." I said sadly.

"That's not true. He got us didn't he?" Cooper asked.

"Yeah, and then he fell out of our tree." I said.

"Don't beat yourself up about it." Cooper said.

"How can I not? It's my fault. I should have been watching him." I said.

"You were exhausted and you needed rest." Cooper said in an attempt to make me feel better.

"That's no excuse." I said.

"Charlotte, if you're to blame because you fell asleep then I am at fault too. I was asleep also." Cooper told me.

"You were sick. You needed rest." I said.

"Yeah, and you're pregnant. You need rest too." Cooper said. I sighed and let go of Trenton's hand. I flopped down in a chair and stared up at the ceiling. Cooper came over to me and took my hand.

"It's no one's fault okay? I'm going to go check on Mason." Cooper said and left me alone. I sighed and put my hand onto my stomach. Anthony kicked when he felt my hand. I smiled and closed my eyes just for a second. Before I could stop myself I had fallen asleep. When I woke up Trenton was watching cartoons. Cooper was still gone but it had to have been the next day. Trenton looked at me when he heard me moving.

"Hey mom." He said.

"Hey kiddo. How do you feel?" I asked.

"Well Aunt Amelia said I would have a headache for a while so I'm not concerned." He said. I smiled. He was smarter than you think an eight year old would be and he was always calm.

"How's your elbow?" I asked.

"It hurts a lot. But Dr. Adams gave me some Morphine. I'm just waiting for it to kick in." He said. I nodded.

"How's your side?" I asked.

"Good. It's kind of hard to breathe because Dr. Adams said I had a rib that was poking my rib so I have a gash in my right lung. Dr. Adams said it would be okay because of how fast it's healing. He said that I wasn't superman he had just stitched it up so it could heal faster. I was kind of bummed that I didn't have like super speedy healing powers but I'm okay with it now." Trenton rambled. I smiled.

"Well I'm glad you're doing better." I said. Trenton nodded.

"Oh me too. I don't like feeling like I've been run over by a bus." He joked.

"Have you seen your dad?" I asked.

"Yeah, since I was doing so well he took Mason home." Trenton explained. "You know you really should eat. Aunt Addison said it wasn't good for Anthony that you weren't eating." Trenton said.

"You are way too smart." I laughed.

"You should go get something to eat. I'll be fine alone for a while." Trenton insisted. I smiled.

"Fine, I'll go get something to eat and be right back okay?" I asked. Trenton nodded.

"Okay Mom." He agreed. I smiled and left. I ran into Addison at the cafeteria.

"Trenton make you come eat?" She asked and grabbed a ham sandwich off the counter.

"Yes. His head is all full on medical knowledge. You guys have got to stop telling him all this stuff. He's too smart for his own good." I laughed and grabbed a ham sandwich. Addison smiled and grabbed an apple.

"He's such a cute kid." Addison mused.

"Yes. A little too cute. How's everything with Mark?" I asked and grabbed a bag of Salt and Vinegar chips.

"Good. Actually great." Addison said. I smiled.

"Good. You need someone who treats you right and supports what you want." I said. Addison smiled.

"I feel like things are finally working out for me. I have an amazing guy who loves me and I'm pregnant with Twins. This is my dream come true." She said and grabbed a club soda. I nodded and grabbed a diet Pepsi.

"I'm glad." I said. Addison paid the cashier and waited for me to do the same. Then we sat down together. I unwrapped my sandwich and took a bite. Addison did the same with hers.

"How's Anthony?" Addison asked.

"Active as ever." I said. Addison smiled.

"I am enjoying the fact that mine can't kick yet." Addison said and took another bite.

"Enjoy it while it lasts." I said. Addison nodded.

"That's for sure." She agreed. Mark sat down next to Addison. They shared a quick kiss and then he started to eat his hot dog.

"How are you today Charlotte?" He asked.

"I'm good. Any interesting cases?" I asked.

"Some poor kid with half of his face torn off." Mark said. Addison choked.

"Mark, I'm eating." Addison complained. Mark grinned.

"What? Charlotte asked." He said defensively. I smiled.

"Man does have a point. I did ask." I agreed. Addison rolled her eyes.

"It normally wouldn't bother me, but I have enough trouble keeping food down these days." Addison said. I nodded.

"That is true. I know how that feels." I said. Addison nodded.

"Exactly. So from now on, don't talk about kids with their faces half torn off while I eat." Addison said. Mark sighed.

"Fine." He huffed. I smiled. Trenton was okay and so was I. Things were looking up.


	15. Chapter 15

After I finished eating I went up to Trenton's room again. He was holding his elbow and biting his lip when I came in.

"Hey kiddo. Morphine still hasn't kicked in yet?" I asked. Trenton nodded.

"It's gotten worse." Trenton complained.

"I'll page Dr. Adams." I decided. Trenton nodded.

"Please." Trenton begged. Dr. Adams came in a few minutes later.

"So your mom tells me you're still in a lot of pain?" Dr. Adams asked Trenton. He nodded.

"Make it go away. Please." Trenton begged.

"I can give you some more Morphine but I don't know how much it will help. You're in for a very long and painful four months." Dr. Adams told him and injected Morphine into his IV. Then he carefully removed Trenton's arm from the sling and cracked open his cast. Trenton winced. Dr. Adams removed the cast. Trenton's arm was three times the size of his other one.

"Is it supposed to be that swollen?" I asked concerned.

"It typically doesn't swell that bad. The diuretics for his brain probably has something to do with it." Dr. Adams said. "I'll run an x-ray just to make sure the plates haven't shifted." He decided after looking over Trenton's arm more closely. I nodded.

"Then can you make it hurt less?" Trenton asked.

"I'll try bud." He said. "I'll page an intern to take you up to x-ray and I'll come talk to you as soon as I get the images back." Dr. Adams said and left the room.

"Hey Kiddo. I've got some good news for you." I said.

"Am I getting a 3Ds for Christmas?" Trenton asked hopefully.

"I don't know you have to wait and see." I laughed.

"Oh, then what?" He asked.

"Your cancer is gone." I said.

"No more treatments?" He asked. I nodded.

"No more treatments." I said. Trenton smiled.

"Thank you God." He said. I smiled.

"Yeah, I told you God was real." I said. Trenton nodded.

"I know that more than anyone. Falling out of trees and cancer aren't things a lot of people live through." Trenton said. I nodded.

"No they're not." I agreed. Trenton smiled.

"Then again not a lot of people have to deal with them." Trenton said.

"No. You're just special." I said.

"If this is special I want no point." Trenton said. I smiled. I stood up and walked over to stare out the door. Whenever Anthony started being active it helped to get up and walk around. Dr. Rogers came and took Trenton up to x-ray. I hung around in his room for a while before going to see if I could find Addison. She was exactly where I thought she'd be, in the NICU. She looked up when I came in.

"Hey Charlotte. You okay?" She asked.

"Yeah." I lied and leaned against an empty incubator that was pressed up against the wall.

"You are lying. What's up?" Addison asked.

"You know how life throws you curveballs?" I asked. Addison flipped the chart closed.

"Yeah?" She asked.

"Ever feel like they just dump a bucket of balls on you at a time?" I asked.

"Yes. When Derek left and I found out I was pregnant." Addison said.

"How on earth did you manage to pull through?" I asked. Addison came over to me and leaned against the wall next to me.

"Well, you just have to push through." Addison said.

"That's some great advice." I said sarcastically.

"Well I don't know Charlotte. You just have to do what you can and leave the rest up to God." Addison said.

"I thought you didn't believe in God?" I asked.

"I do, I just don't understand him, but I do know that he can help you through the valleys. Like when Archer had Cysticercosis, I prayed and God answered." Addison said.

"I know God answers prayer. Trenton's alive and cancer free." I said.

"Then why are you so worried?" Addison asked.

"I don't know." I said and put my head in my hands. I rubbed my eyes and looked back up.

"Don't stress so much. It's bad for the baby. Come on, let's go get something to drink." Addison said. I nodded and followed her out of the room. The halls seemed smaller for some reason. Maybe that was because I myself felt so small. The lounge was surprisingly vacant and I gladly took control of the couch after I grabbed a diet coke.

"Have you heard from Cooper?" I asked. Addison nodded and sat down in an arm chair with her club soda.

"Yeah. He took Mason home yesterday so they could get some rest. Said he'd be back when Mason was better." She informed me.

"Good. He needs to rest." I said and took a sip of my diet coke.

"You need to rest too." Addison said.

"I'll rest when Trenton comes home." I said. Addison sighed and pulled at the leather on her chair.

"I'm sure there is nothing I can do to convince you to go home so do what you want. I'm warning you though." Addison said sternly. I smirked.

"I win every conversational argument Addison." I said. Addison smiled.


	16. Chapter 16

Week later

Trenton had been discharged yesterday and was already back to playing and goofing off with Mason like he'd never fallen out of a tree. Of course his nice scar on the corner of his head and the hair that was taking forever to grow back was evidence that he really had fallen out of that tree. His broken arm wasn't stopping him from spending countless hours playing Pokemon video games with Mason. Cooper was trying to convince me to continue on leave until the baby was born but I was only twenty three weeks, the hospital wouldn't last that long without me, but when my alarm clock woke me up at five-thirty I almost regretted not taking leave. I dragged myself out of bed and slowly made my way into the bathroom. Mason ran in while I was brushing my teeth.

"Charlotte can we get McDonald's for breakfast before you drop us off at school? Please?" Mason begged.

"Mason, I'm busy." I said. Mason huffed and hung his head.

"Fine." He muttered and started to walk out of the bathroom.

"I didn't say no." I called after him. Mason turned quickly and flashed a smile at me.

"Thanks Charlotte!" He exclaimed and turned to leave again. I rolled my eyes and spit into the sink. I pulled my hair up into a ponytail and combed out my bangs. Then I pulled on my boots and walked out of the bathroom. I found Mason and Trenton jumping on their twin beds. Mason's half of the room was painted blue with posters of his favorite water type Pokemon and his bead sheets had some sort of turtle Pokemon on it. Trenton's half of the room was green and his walls were lined with posters of Pokemon and places like Seattle and Alaska and New York. Unlike Mason his bed sheets were just camouflage. I have to admit that Trenton was definitely different from Mason. Trenton dreamed a lot of seeing the world and becoming a doctor, of course he liked Pokemon too, but he thought a lot of the future. He was way to young to think about his future. I mean he was only eight. But I guess he used to spend his time laying in the hospital thinking he didn't have the possibility of a future.

"Trenton Christopher Freedman-King! What on earth do you think you are doing?" I yelled. Trenton abruptly stopped jumping. Mason flopped down on his bed and didn't move.

"Jumping." He said and hung his head.

"Do you really think that's wise? Do you want to mess up your elbow even more?" I asked. Trenton shook his head.

"No ma'am." He said shamefully.

"That's right. Now both of you go get your shoes and backpacks. We have to leave now if you want McDonald's." I said. Mason sprang up and grabbed his blue Pokemon backpack off the floor, then he disappeared outside the room to put his shoes on. Trenton grabbed his plaid backpack and walked slowly after Mason. I followed him with my arms crossed. He grabbed his skate shoes and handed them to me.

"You have to tie them remember?" He asked. I smiled and grabbed his shoes from him.

"Yes I know kiddo. Come on sit down and I'll tie them." I said. Trenton sat down on the floor careful not to hit his arm. I slipped his shoes on his feet and started to tie them. Mason impatiently stood by the door tapping his foot.

"Come on Charlotte, I'm hungry." He whined. Trenton got to his feet.

"Don't be annoying." He said angrily.

"I'm not." Mason said. Trenton shrugged and walked past him out the door.

"Come on bud. You said you were hungry right?" I asked and walked past Mason out the door after Trenton. Mason ran out after me. They pilled into the backseat and buckled in.

"Okay we're ready." Mason announced. I rolled my eyes and climbed into the driver's seat.

"You two, how can you be so much like Cooper?" I asked and pulled out of the driveway.

"He doesn't have to be our biological father for us to act like him." Trenton said. I smiled.

"You're too smart, yet somehow you like to do what you're not supposed to." I said.

"I'm sorry." He said shamefully. I smiled and pulled out of the neighborhood. I liked our new house, but it was still hard getting used to changing up the drive to work. I was still getting the hang of some of the back roads. Cooper had insisted we get a bigger house after we adopted Trenton.

"Can we go inside and play?" Mason asked when we pulled into McDonald's.

"Not now, you have to go to school." I said and pulled in the drive-thru line behind some beat up Chevy. The Chevy was packed with kids. I sighed and leaned back slightly in my seat. We were going to be here forever. Eventually I dropped Mason and Trenton off at school and drove to the practice. Cooper was waiting for me at the front desk.

"Hey beautiful. Long morning?" He asked.

"You have no idea." I said and grabbed my charts.

"What took you so long?" Cooper asked.

"Mason and Trenton wanted McDonald's for breakfast. We got stuck behind this Chevy with I swear like ten kids pilled in it. I barely got them to school before they were late. You need to have a talk with Trenton next time you see him, I caught him jumping on the bed this morning." I said and started to walk toward the kitchen to grab some coffee. Cooper followed me.

"Yes ma'am. That is one big ball of energy." Cooper laughed and grabbed a soda out of the fridge. I poured a cup of coffee. Cooper took it from me before I could take a drink.

"Hey!" I said and snatched it back.

"Charlotte. You know you aren't supposed to have coffee." Cooper said. I took a sip.

"I can have one cup a day. Just ask Addison!" I said. Cooper rolled his eyes and pulled me in closer. He kissed me on the cheek and walked out of the kitchen. Addison came in looking slightly aggravated with Jake hot on her heels.

"Come on Addison they are my kids." Jake begged.

"Look Jake, I said you could be a part of their lives but I am with Mark now." Addison said and poured a cup of coffee.

"Addison, Mark is the reason you aren't with Derek anymore and you still want him?" Jake asked. Addison slapped Jake.

"Don't you dare bring up Derek. Okay? You have absolutely no business using that against Mark." Addison said. I grabbed the paper off the counter and opened it so I didn't look like I was eavesdropping.

"Fine, you know what Addison forget it. I'm leaving. You just lost your fertility specialist. I quit." Jake said and threw his charts down on the island before walking out. Addison flopped down on a bar stool and put her head on the island. She rubbed circles on the swell of her stomach.

"Sorry you had to hear that. On top of everything else." She said not lifting her head from the island. I sat down next to her.

"It's okay. You've had a rough time lately. We all have. With Amelia and everything else." I said understandingly. Addison propped her head up with her right arm and turned her head to face me. Her eyes were wet and I figured she was about to start crying.

"I hate hormones." She said and whipped her eyes. I smiled.

"Maybe you should go home for the day?" I suggested. Addison shook her head.

"No, I need to be here." Addison said.

"Okay if you're sure. I'm no OB but I've heard from a really great one that stress isn't good for the baby." I said. Addison smiled.

"I need to find someone to fill Jake's spot." Addison said.

"Why not hire Mark? Everyone loves plastics." I suggested. Addison cracked a smile.

"Yeah, I could do that. Thanks Charlotte." Addison said.

"Anytime." I said and stood up. "I'll see you later." I said and walked out of the kitchen.


	17. Chapter 17

Three weeks later

"Momma. Wake up!" Trenton said impatiently.

"Trenton. I don't get a lot of off days. Please let me sleep in." I complained and pulled my body pillow in closer.

"Momma." Trenton complained.

"Five more minutes Trenton. Go watch that new Pokemon movie with Mason." I said. Cooper shifted next to me and sat up.

"Trenton, do what your mother tells you to." Cooper said sleepily. Trenton huffed and stomped off down the hall. I turned and kissed Cooper.

"Thank you." I said a pulled away.

"Anytime. Why don't you ditch that body pillow and use me?" Cooper suggested.

"Mm, no Cooper. My back hurts." I said and pulled the pillow in closer.

"Aw come on Char." Cooper pleaded.

"No." I said and closed my eyes. Cooper sighed and climbed out of the bed.

"I'll go keep Trenton and Mason occupied while you sleep some more. Don't sleep too much. I won't be able to hold them off forever. They're really excited about the zoo." Cooper said. I nodded and buried my face deeper into the pillow. My back was killing me today and I was going to go to the L.A. Zoo? What the heck was I thinking? Trenton and Mason were so excited because both Cooper and myself had a Saturday off. They'd been talking about the zoo all week. I sighed and found myself falling asleep again.

"Charlotte. You okay?" Cooper's calm voice woke me up. I shifted uncomfortably.

"Does it look like I'm okay Coop?" I asked.

"It's really bothering you isn't it?" Cooper asked.

"Yes." I said.

"I can take Mason and Trenton while you stay here and rest." Cooper suggested.

"I couldn't do that to them." I said. Cooper pushed my bangs back out of my eyes.

"They'll understand. Just stay here and try to feel better." Cooper said and kissed my cheek. I nodded.

"Okay." I croaked.

"You should take some Tylenol." Cooper suggested.

"No." I said firmly.

"Come on Char." Cooper pleaded.

"I don't want to I'm afraid I won't be able to stop myself." I said. Cooper sighed.

"Okay Char. Call me if you need anything." Cooper said and left the room. A few hours later I was still laying curled up on my bed. Someone's footsteps came down the hall and entered the room.

"Hey Charlotte." Addison's voice said. I sat up slowly and turned to face her. "You look rough." Addison commented.

"Thanks." I said sarcastically.

"Cooper said it was really bothering you today." Addison commented and sat down next to me on the bed.

"Yeah. I'll get over it." I said.

"Maybe you should go see Pete?" Addison suggested.

"I do not like tribal medicine." I said annoyed.

"It worked before." Addison said.

"That was sleep insomnia. Not back pains." I said.

"Then take some Tylenol." Addison said.

"I don't want to take any chances." I said.

"No one would let you go over the edge." Addison said.

"Just like no one let Amelia?" I asked. Addison's face fell. "I'm sorry, that was mean of me." I said.

"No it's okay. It's my fault anyway. I should have watched her more closely." Addison said.

"No it wasn't your fault she made her own choices." I said.

"Seriously though. You should take something." Addison pressed.

"No. No. I'm fine." I insisted and pulled my pillow in closer. "So have you found out the sexes yet?" I asked.

"Yeah. I just got back from the appointment with Naomi." Addison said.

"And?" I asked.

"And I'm having a girl and a boy." Addison said.

"That's great! One of each. Thought of any names?" I asked. Addison smiled and nodded.

"Mark wants to name the boy Braxton." Addison told me.

"That's a cute name. Do you like it?" I asked. Addison nodded.

"Yeah. But I kind of like Nathan or Jacob." Addison said.

"Those are nice too." I agreed.

"Yeah, and Mark likes them too. I don't know though, Braxton, Nathan, and Jacob are cute too." Addison said.

"Well you have awhile to decide still. What about the girl?" I asked.

"Brooklyn, Kimberly, or Tess." Addison said.

"Oh, I like Kimberly and Brooklyn." I said. Addison smiled.

"Yeah, Mark likes Kimberly because then she could be Kimberly Addison Montgomery-Sloan. Oh yeah that's another thing, Mark and I are getting married." Addison said and showed me the diamond ring that was on her finger.

"Wow, that's beautiful. Isn't it kind of fast though?" I asked.

"Yeah, but I've known him forever." Addison said. I nodded.

"As long as you're happy, then I'm happy for you." I said. Addison smiled.

"Thanks. We're going to wait until after they're born. Would you like to be my maid of honor?" Addison asked.

"Seriously? I thought Naomi or Callie or Violet even but me? Are you sure?" I asked. Addison nodded.

"Positive, I was actually kind of thinking that you and Callie could kind of be co-maids of honor." Addison said. I nodded.

"I would be honored Addison." I said. Addison smiled.

"Good. So, did you and Cooper ever decide on Anthony's middle name?" Addison asked.

"Mm, we've argued about it a little but I think we're doing Anthony James Freedman-King." I said.

"That has a nice ring to it." Addison decided after thinking about it for a few minutes. I shifted uncomfortably and Addison slid another pillow behind my back for support.

"Thanks. So what about middle names for all of your options?" I asked.

"Well if we decide on Braxton I like Braxton Marcus. Or Nathan Alexander. Jacob Samuel is nice too." Addison said.

"Darn those are all really good." I laughed.

"I know right? This is what happens when the only book you've read for the past eleven weeks is the baby names book front to back." Addison joked. I smiled.

"What about the girls?" I asked, talking with Addison kind of made me forget about how much I was hurting.

"Brooklyn Nicole, Kimberly Addison, or Tess Alexandria." Addison said.

"Way to use a variety of letters." I remarked. Addison laughed.

"Well I can't stand people who are like all matchy with the names like Kimberly Katherine. That just bothers me for some reason." Addison rambled. I laughed.

"I'm starving. Want to order Chinese and watch movies? Cooper took Trenton and Mason to the zoo and some party center. They'll be gone until late." I said. Addison smiled.

"I would love to." Addison said. I stood slowly and went into the bathroom to put on some sweat pants. I met Addison in the living room. She was on the phone with the Chinese takeout place. "Yes I am well aware it's a big order. But you clearly do not understand the amount of food two pregnant women can eat would you please just tell me how much the food is." Addison said annoyed. I sat down on the couch and flicked on the TV. "Thank you." Addison said and hung up the phone.

"Having issues?" I asked as she took a seat next to me.

"I hate ordering over the phone." She remarked. I smiled.


	18. Chapter 18

Two weeks later

My phone starting ringing and I shot up in bed. Cooper sat up suddenly when I moved.

"Char? Everything okay?" Cooper asked. I grabbed my phone and looked to see who was calling me at four in the morning.

"Yeah. The hospital is calling me." I said and pressed the green button. "Dr. King speaking." I said.

"Charlotte we have a situation and we need you." Sam said.

"Okay. I'll be right there." I said and hung up. "Sorry Coop. You need to handle the kids this morning. I have to go in." I said and kissed him on the cheek before climbing out of bed. I pulled on some slacks and a flowing shirt. Then I went out to my car and drove through the darkness to St. Ambrose. When I got there Addison was waiting for me with two coffees she gave me one and started walking with me to find Sam. "What's the emergency?" I asked and took a sip of my coffee.

"A patient of mine originally wanted to put the baby up for adoption and now she wants the kid and the adoptive parents won't back... Excuse me." Addison said and had to stop to brace herself on the wall.

"Addison?" I asked.

"It's nothing they're just fighting for the first time." Addison said.

"Do you need to sit down?" I asked.

"No, no I'm fine. Just give me a second." Addison said. I waited and eventually she straightened and started to walk with me again. "Like I was saying the adoptive family won't back down." Addison said finishing her statement from earlier.

"Great. Now I have to go be the heartless witch who tells them the child was never legally theirs and to sue the hospital would get them no where because they wouldn't win. What's worse is I'm pregnant. So that makes them automatically hate me." I said. Addison laughed.

"I know the feeling." She said. I sighed and pushed open the door into the room Addison had directed me too. The adoptive parents were in a heated argument with a girl who looked to be seventeen in a wheelchair.

"She's rightfully mine! I gave birth to her." The girl said annoyed.

"But you promised her to us." The older woman said angrily.

"Excuse me, I'm Dr. King chief of staff at St. Ambrose." I said and shook hands with everyone.

"Dr. King you know that she promised the kid to us." The older woman said angrily.

"Look ma'am I really am sorry but Miss Fennimore gave birth to the girl and according to law has the ability and the right to break off the adoption process and keep her child now I'm sorry for the inconvenience but this is policy." I said and stuffed my hands into my lab coat pocket.

"This is absurd." The man said and led his wife out of the room. Miss Fennimore but her head in her hands.

"I'm such an awful person." She sobbed. Addison walked over to her and rubbed her back.

"It's okay. You didn't know how much you would love her." Addison soothed. I stood awkwardly by the door until Addison was done and had wheeled her out of the room to rest. I flopped down in an office chair and stared up at the ceiling. I had just gotten to work and already my back hurt. I took a sip of coffee and laid back in my chair. This was going to be a long day. Addison came looking for me a few hours later. I was awaken from my nap when the door opened. I turned around to see who it was.

"Oh, hi Addison." I said.

"Hey Charlotte, you haven't moved yet?" She asked.

"No. Not yet. Unless anyone needs me again I think I'll just stay here." I said. Addison laughed.

"You okay?" She asked and sat down in a chair next to mine.

"Yeah, my back just hurts." I said. Addison nodded.

"Anthony is really putting a strain on you isn't he?" Addison asked.

"Oh yeah, you have no idea." I said.

"I will soon." Addison remarked. I nodded.

"Yeah, that's true."

"And it will be twice as bad." Addison said. I nodded.

"I'm sorry." I said.

"Me too," Addison said. I smiled and leaned back farther in my chair. "Work must be your escape these days." Addison commented.

"Yeah, Trenton and Mason are pretty wild." I agreed. Addison smiled.

"Hang in there. Trenton turns nine in a week right?" Addison asked.

"Yes. He does." I said.

"And Mason turns nine in three months?" Addison asked.

"Yes."

"Well then they get better around ten so you only have to deal with them being crazy for another year." Addison said brightly.

"And Anthony." I reminded her.

"Well they don't get real bad until around six." Addison said trying to bring in a bright side.

"I just want a girl." I said. Addison laughed.

"You sure you want to have another one after this one?" Addison asked.

"Yes. I need someone on my side. I think I'll die with boys running around." I said.

"Four?" Addison asked.

"Cooper." I said. Addison laughed.

"Um Charlotte, he's a man." Addison said. I laughed.

"He acts so much like a kid sometimes." I said. Addison smiled. My pager went off and I unclipped it from my lab coat pocket to look at it. Cooper flashed on the screen. "I have to go. Cooper wants me." I said and left the room. I met Cooper in the Pediatric Ward at the nurse's station.

"Hey Charlotte, I brought your favorite." Cooper said and handed me a paper bag and some coffee. I looked inside and found two raspberry filled doughnuts.

"Cooper you didn't have to." I said.

"I know, but I wanted to." Cooper said and kissed me on the cheek. " I have a patient but the boys are going to be at Amelia and Sheldon's tonight so I was thinking we could go out for some Chinese later?" Cooper suggested. I nodded.

"Okay. I'll see you at eight." I said. Cooper smiled and left. I smiled and pulled out one of the doughnuts. I bit into one and closed my eyes in enjoyment. God they were so good.


	19. Chapter 19

One week later

Trenton's birthday

"Mom! Can I please go swim?" Trenton begged.

"Trenton, not right now. You can swim at the party okay?" I asked. Trenton sighed.

"Fine." He said.

"You know for someone who turned nine an hour ago you're awful whiney." I told him. Trenton shut right up. I grinned.

"Go get a shower kiddo." I told him. Yesterday had been the start of Trenton and Mason's spring break. I was silently thankful that we had decided to go for a water proof cast. Trenton still had two more months in it. The doorbell rang and I went to let Addison and Mark in. Addison hugged me.

"Hey Charlotte. Where's Trenton?" Addison asked.

"He ran off to his room. I'll take the present though." I said. Mark placed the small rectangular present into my hands. I led them into the living room and sat the present down on the coffee table. Addison sat down on the couch but Mark continued to stand with his hands stuffed in his pockets. "Cooper is out back putting up decorations. You should help him before he hurts himself." I said. Mark nodded.

"Yeah, that's probably a good idea." Mark said and left.

"So when do the rowdy kids get here?" Addison asked.

"An hour." I said.

"How many?" She asked.

"Well Trenton only invited ten so hopefully like eight." I said. Addison nodded.

"Sam and Naomi coming?" She asked.

"Naomi said she was going to bring Betsy by." I told her.

"What about Sam?" Addison asked.

"He said he'd come to keep Cooper sane." I said. Addison laughed.

"That's nice of him." She said. I smiled.

"Amelia and Sheldon said they would be late." I told her. Trenton came in.

"Mommy can me and Mason go outside and play soccer?" Trenton asked.

"Trenton if you fall." I warned.

"I won't mommy I promise." Trenton said.

"Fine." I said. Trenton pumped his fist and ran off. "You said they get better at ten?" I asked. Addison nodded.

"Supposedly they do." Addison said.

"Thank God." I breathed.

"Need any help getting ready?" Addison asked. I nodded.

"Yeah, actually I need some help setting up snacks." I said. Addison slowly got up from the couch and followed me into the kitchen.

"No soda?" Addison asked as she filled the ice bucket with Capri-sun.

"Do you think I'm an idiot. Way to much sugar." I said. Addison laughed.

"You're pretty good at this whole mom thing." Addison said. I smiled.

"You know I thought I'd hate it, but honestly. I love it." I said. Addison smiled. Something crashed and I stopped dead.

"What the heck was that?" Addison asked.

"Cooper was on a ladder. Crap!" I said and sat the bag of pretzels I had been pouring into a green bowl down. I ran out to the backyard. Mark was helping Cooper up off the ground. "Cooper. Are you okay?" I asked.

"Yeah, I think." Cooper said and started dusting the grass off of his shorts. Addison went over and examined him.

"Mark did he land on his head?" Addison asked. Mark shook his head.

"He caught him self with his hands." Mark said. Addison looked over Cooper's hands and wrists.

"I think that needs stitches." Addison said examining a cut on his hand more closely.

"Ouch. Addison don't touch that." Cooper said.

"I barely touched it Cooper." Addison argued.

"I think you may have broken the bone that connects to your thumb." Addison told him.

"Fantastic. Well who wants to tell Trenton the party is off?" I asked.

"Don't do that to him. I'll take Cooper to the ER." Mark offered.

"Fine." I agreed. Trenton and Mason ran over to us. Mason had the soccer ball tucked under his arm.

"Is dad okay?" Mason asked.

"Yeah bud I'm okay. Hey Trent, Uncle Mark and I have to run into town. So we'll be late for your party. I'm sorry." Cooper told him. Trenton's face fell.

"Okay. At least I have Aunt Addison and mom." Trenton said.

"Uncle Sam and Uncle Sheldon will be here soon." I promised him. Trenton smiled.

"Uncle Sam is cool." Trenton said.

"Yeah, he taught us how to get girls." Mason said.

"He did what?" I asked.

"He taught us how to get girls." Mason repeated.

"And what exactly did he teach ya'll?" I asked.

"To wink. The ladies like it when you wink at em." Trenton said and winked at Addison. Addison grinned.

"See!" Mason pointed. I grinned.

"You're right." I agreed.

"I'll see you later kiddo." Cooper said and ruffled Trenton's hair on his way out to the car. Mark followed him. I sighed and pushed my bangs out of my eyes. Addison and I walked back into kitchen. The doorbell rang twenty minutes later while Addison and I were laying out the table cloth. I went and let Naomi and Betsy in. Betsy held out a green box to me. I took it from her.

"Hey Mason and Trenton are out back." I said. Betsy glanced at Naomi who nodded to her. Betsy took off outside.

"Need any help?" Naomi asked. I looked around the living room.

"Nope. I think I got it all." I said and sat the box down next to Trenton's other present. "Oh no wait. Can you go in my closet and get the stack of presents?" I asked. Naomi nodded and left. Addison sat the bowls of food on the table and flopped down on the couch.

"Is it bad that I am already exhausted?" Addison asked. I sat down next to her.

"Yes." I said. Addison laughed.

"I'm so tired." Addison said.

"Mm. Me too." I agreed. Naomi came in carrying Trenton's presents. She sat them down on the table and sat down on the other side of Addison.

"I am so not ready for this." Addison said rubbing her stomach.

"Me either." I agreed. "This is the last party I will ever throw." I decided.

"That's kind of sad that you're saying that before it even starts." Naomi said. I laughed.

"Yeah, you're right." I agreed. The doorbell rang. "Let the games begin." I said and went to go answer the door.


	20. Chapter 20

Two weeks later

"Hey Charlotte, how are you feeling?" Addison asked when I entered her office.

"Good you?" I asked. Addison stood up and smoothed out her blouse.

"I'm good, just ya know, feeling like a whale." She replied. "You ready?" Addison asked. I nodded.

"Yeah." I said. Addison smiled and led me across the hall to an exam room. I laid down on the exam table and Addison moved the sonogram machine closer.

"Where's Cooper?" She asked and squirted the gel on to my stomach.

"He took Mason and Trenton out to see that new Adam Sandler movie." I said.

"How many more weeks does Trenton have in the cast?" Addison asked and moved the radar around.

"Six." I said. "How does he look?" I asked.

"Anthony looks great for thirty-one weeks." Addison told me and handed me a paper towel to wipe my stomach off. Then she checked my blood pressure. "Everything looks great." Addison told me. I nodded and sat up.

"Finalized any name decisions?" I asked.

"Uhm no. But we eliminated Brooklyn." Addison said. I nodded.

"Any reason why?" I asked.

"Mark realized he had an Aunt who he absolutely hated whose middle name was Brooklyn." Addison said laughing. I rolled my eyes.

"Wow." I laughed. Naomi poked her head into the room.

"Addison, you ready?" She asked. Addison nodded.

"Yeah, we were just finishing up. I'll see you later Charlotte." Addison replied and followed Naomi out. I stared at the frozen image of Anthony on the screen. Eventually Addison came back in. "Oh hey Charlotte, I thought you had left." She said.

"Oh no, I was just thinking." I said.

"For thirty minutes?" Addison asked. I nodded. "What's on your mind?" She asked.

"Just thinking about what it's going to be like when Anthony gets here." I said.

"Yeah. I think about the twins a lot too." Addison said.

"I'm worried about Mason and Trenton." I admitted.

"I'm sure they will love Anthony." Addison assured me. Mark came in.

"Hey Addison, Naomi told me I'd find you here. How was the appointment?" Mark asked.

"Oh, it was good. She said the girl was kind of small but as long as I kept up a healthy diet she'd be fine." Addison said. Mark nodded.

"That's good. Charlotte, Cooper told me to tell you that Mason and Trenton had Red Boxed a movie for tonight and were excitedly awaiting you arrival. He told me to tell you to please hurry home before he gets attacked." Mark told me. I smiled.

"Thanks Mark. I was about to leave anyway." I said and slid past him out the door. Cooper was barely hanging on by the time I got home. He looked exhausted. Trenton and Mason were sprawled out on the living room floor watching cartoons and battling each other with their Pokemon cards. Trenton looked up and smiled.

"Hey mom! Dad can we order Pizza now?" Trenton asked excitedly.

"Sure kiddo. I'll go call." Cooper said and got up from the couch.

"Make sure you get breadsticks." I said and kissed him on the cheek when he walked by on his way to the kitchen to order. He nodded. I sat down on the couch. "So what movie did you guys get?" I asked.

"Avatar!" Mason said excitedly but did not look up from his duel.

"Cool. That's the one with the blue people right?" I asked. Trenton nodded. Cooper came back in and sat down next to me on the couch. He put his arm around my shoulders and I leaned my head on his chest.

"Trenton put the movie in." Mason told him.

"No! Why don't you? You're gonna mess up my cards." Trenton said.

"I am not!" Mason argued.

"I think you should put it in. My arm hurts." Trenton said.

"Liar." Mason spat.

"Guys. Seriously. Mason put the movie in." Cooper said.

"That's not fair dad." Mason whined.

"Mason. Do as you arm told. Mom is very tired and she probably doesn't want to hear you two arguing." Cooper said. Mason sighed and got up.

"Don't touch my cards." Mason warned.

"He won't. I'm watching him." I said. Mason nodded and went to get the movie off the kitchen counter. He came back into the room and put it in. Then he got back down on the floor.

"Thank you Mase." Cooper said and hit play. Next thing I knew Cooper was waking me up twenty minutes later when the pizza came. I ate two pieces and then went to bed.

Three weeks later

I sighed and leaned back in my desk chair. I started maternity leave next week and I had been at work since five trying to get things straightened out for next week. I felt a sharp pain and gently rubbed circles on my bump.

"Not so hard." I begged. Addison came in.

"Hey, you okay?" She asked.

"Yeah. Probably just some Braxton-Hicks." I said.

"How many have you had in the past hour?" Addison asked.

"This is the first one all day." I told her.

"Oh okay. Well let me know if you have more than four in an hour, you might be in preterm labor." Addison said. I nodded.

"Will do." I said and stood from my chair. I moved around to the filing cabinet and started shifting through papers. Addison sat down on the couch in my office.

"You know on second thought I'll sit with you for the next hour. Just to be sure." Addison said. I rolled my eyes and pulled a stack of files out of the cabinet. I pushed the drawer back in and went to sit back down at my desk. I flipped one open and started looking through it.

"So, how is the name game going?" I asked as I continued to work.

"No advancements." Addison said. I nodded. A few minutes later another one hit.

"Ouch." I breathed. Addison looked up from her blackberry.

"Charlotte?" She asked.

"I'm fine." I said and went back to my files.

"That's two in fifteen minutes." Addison said.

"I'm fine." I insisted.

"Sure you are." Addison said and looked back at her blackberry. I rolled my eyes and continued to work. Maybe fifteen minutes later another one hit.

"Anthony, not now." I pleaded.

"Charlotte, that's fifteen minutes intervals. I think you're in preterm labor." Addison said.

"I am not." I said.

"Don't make me get Cooper in here. You need to go to the hospital so I can check you out. Try and get the contractions to stop. See if we can't keep him in longer." Addison said. I sighed.

"Fine." I agreed regrettably. Addison led me out to her car and drove me to St. Ambrose. She checked me into a room and had an intern hook up a fetal monitor and an IV.

"I'll give you something to try and stop the contractions but I think it's too late. I'll call Cooper." Addison said. I nodded. Addison turned to leave. She stopped and turned back to me. "Charlotte try to get some sleep while you can." She said and slipped out of the room.


	21. Chapter 21

Try to sleep? Doesn't Addison know how impossible that is when your baby is going to be four weeks premature? Or when every fifteen minutes you experience a stabbing pain? Of course she doesn't, she's never been in preterm labor, or any labor at all for that matter. She'd been gone almost thirty minutes and I hadn't gotten a single wink of sleep yet. Cooper came in.

"Hey Charlotte. You okay?" He asked taking my hand. I nodded.

"For now." I told him. He nodded.

"This is so unexpected." He said. I could tell he was scared out of his mind.

"Yeah, I hope he is going to be okay." I said.

"I'm sure he will. It's only a few weeks early." Cooper assured me. I nodded.

"Right." I said. Cooper smiled and stroked the top of my hand. "Where's Mason and Trenton?" I asked.

"I dropped them off at Amelia and Sheldon's." Cooper said.

"Oh, did you tell them why?" I asked. Cooper nodded.

"Trenton wanted to come with me. Mason wanted to hang out with Riley." Cooper said.

"Is that the little girl they adopted last week?" I asked. Cooper nodded.

"I think Mason has a crush on her." Cooper said. I smiled. Addison came in.

"So, it appears despite the medication the labor is slowly progressing so, I'm going to give you something to try and mature Anthony's lungs a bit faster." Addison said. I nodded and an intern pushed something into my IV. "I'll be back to check on you in a little bit." Addison said and left the room.

"This is it Char." Cooper said.

"It could be hours more Coop. My water hasn't broken yet." I said. Cooper nodded.

"I know, but it'll be sometime soon." Cooper said.

"I'm not ready. I don't think I can do this." I said. Cooper smiled at me encouragingly.

"You are ready and you can do this." He told me. I nodded.

"Okay." I replied shakily. "If you say so."

"I know so." He said. I smiled and closed my eyes. I actually managed to fall asleep. I think it was because Cooper was there with me. The sleep didn't last near long enough before I woke up to a particularly hard contraction. "Char?" Cooper asked and pushed some hair out of my face.

"I'm okay." I said brushing him off. He nodded and reclined back in his chair. Addison came in.

"Hey, you're awake." She commented.

"How long have I been asleep?" I asked.

"Three hours." She told me. "Now, I'm just going to check your dilation." Addison said and pulled on some gloves.

"This is awkward." Cooper said. Addison smiled.

"Looks like you're about five centimeters and your water hasn't broken yet. It should progress rather quickly after it does. But you never

know." Addison explained. I nodded.

"Okay." I said. A particularly hard contraction hit and I let out a small groan.

"Are you sure you don't want any pain medication?" Addison asked.

"No." I told her firmly. Addison nodded.

"Okay then. I'll be back to check on you shortly." Addison said and left the room.

"Charlotte if it's too much, I won't let you go off the deep end." Cooper said. I nodded.

"Okay. I love you." I told him. Cooper smiled.

"I love you too Charlotte. I can't wait to hold Anthony." He whispered and kissed me on the cheek. "Now try and get some rest and remember if it gets to be too much to handle. It's okay. I'll catch you." Cooper said. I nodded and closed my eyes. I woke up on the next contraction six minutes later. I gripped Cooper's hand.

"I can't do it." I told him. Cooper whipped a tear from my eye.

"Do you want an epidural?" Cooper asked.

"I can't." I told him.

"You can, I won't let you go too far." Cooper assured me. I sighed and nodded. "I'll page Addison okay?" Cooper asked and pulled out his Blackberry. I nodded.

Two hours later

My water had broken an hour ago and I was eight centimeters now. The epidural was helping some but not completely killing the pain. We had been at this for five hours and I was more than ready to be done. Cooper was passed out in a chair near my bed. He'd been trying his best not to fall asleep but it was nine at night and he had been up until Midnight the night before. I felt a rippling pain and I cried out. Cooper woke with a start.

"Charlotte what's wrong?" He asked.

"It hurts, it hurts really bad and it's not going away." I gasped.

"I'll page Addison." Cooper said. I nodded.

"Please." I begged. Addison ran in a few minutes later.

"Charlotte the placenta is tearing we need to get up to an OR now, he's in distress." She told me. I nodded.

"Okay. Oh my God it hurts. Addison." I begged.

"Trey call and tell them we're coming now." Addison ordered. Trey nodded and ran out. Addison started pushing me out to the elevator. Trey jumped into the elevator at the last second.

"They've been notified. OR 3 is the only OR open." Trey told her.

"Okay." She said. The doors opened and they pushed me into OR 3.

**Cliffhanger! (: **

**I'm doing a poll for Addison's kids names! I can't decide. Either Braxton Marcus, Nathan Alexander, or Jacob Samuel for the boy and Kimberly Addison, Tess Alexandria, or Whitney Nicole for the girl. Obviously I'll make the final decision but I want your opinions! (: Thanks.**


	22. Chapter 22

I woke and was frightened by the beeping of the machines hooked to me. Before it had just been an IV and a fetal monitor now it was all for me. Not Anthony. The oxygen tube in my nose itched like crazy. Addison came in. She had her face buried in my chart. She didn't even notice that I was awake until I cleared my throat. She looked up startled.

"Oh hey Charlotte." She said.

"How is he?" I croaked. I was slightly horrified by how dry my throat was. Addison poured me a glass of water. I gladly took a few sips.

"Anthony is doing really well. You were the one we were worried about. You lost a lot of blood." Addison explained.

"No damage?" I asked. Addison nodded.

"No damage." She confirmed.

"Thank God." I breathed.

"Do you want another one still after the problems you had?" Addison asked.

"Yeah, I think I do." I said. Addison smiled and nodded.

"If I could, I would have more too." She agreed.

"I'm sorry. But at least you get two." I said. Addison smiled and nodded.

"That's true." She agreed. "I guess I got lucky that way."

"Yes you did. God, I'm going to have three boys running around." I said. Addison laughed.

"I guess you do need to go again so you can have someone on your side." Addison said.

"Exactly. How's the wedding plans going?" I asked.

"You tell me, you're the maid of honor. Plus we're waiting until a month after the babies before we even start planning." Addison said. I nodded.

"Smart idea." I said. "Decided on name's yet?" I asked.

"No. I can't choose. And Mark's gotten to the point where he's no help." Addison said. I laughed.

"Cooper was like that too. Until I suggested Anthony." I said.

"Men." Addison said shaking her head. I grinned.

"Where is Cooper?" I asked.

"He went to check on Mason and Trenton."

"Oh okay. Can I see Anthony?" I asked.

"Not yet. You need some more time to heal." Addison said.

"How long?" I asked impatiently.

"Not long. But you do need rest. Come on try and get some sleep." Addison said. I sighed.

"I hate how in hospitals they shove sleep down your throat." I said. Addison smiled.

"Seriously Charlotte, you really need to sleep, you need time to heal." Addison said and slipped out of the room. I sighed and flopped my head back into the pillow. I just wanted to see Anthony and know that he was okay. I closed my eyes and tried to sleep. I gave up trying after an hour and just laid there staring at the ceiling. Eventually someone knocked on the door frame. I looked up and Cooper walked in.

"Hey beautiful, how are you feeling?" Cooper asked and kissed my forehead.

"I'm doing okay. I wish I could see our son." I said. Cooper laughed.

"He has your eyes and hair color." Cooper said.

"I bet he has your nose." I said. Cooper grinned.

"God, I hope not." Cooper said. I smiled.

"Oh come on it's cute." I said.

"Uh, no it is not."

"Well to me it's cute."

"Whatever." Cooper said annoyed.

"Did you tell your parents?" I asked. Cooper nodded.

"Yeah, they were happy for us but they're in Hawaii so they can't fly in until next week." Cooper said. I nodded.

"Did you tell my momma?" I asked. Cooper nodded.

"She said she'd fly in Friday with Duke." Cooper informed me. I nodded.

"Cool. So you have time to clean up the house." I told him.

"What?" He asked. "I want to spend time with you and Anthony." Cooper complained.

"Cooper, my mother is the most OCD person in the world. I can't have her staying in an untidy house." I said. Cooper sighed.

"Fine but you owe me." He grumbled. I smiled and kissed him. Cooper smiled and left the room. I smiled to myself and tried to sleep. I woke up the next morning, or I think it was morning and it was raining. Every time it rained in LA some idiot caused a huge crash. The hospital was going to die without me today. Addison came in looking distressed.

"Morning Dr. Montgomery." I said. Addison nodded.

"Morning." She yawned.

"Long night?" I asked.

"It started raining at ten last night. Massive wreck which involved not one but two pregnant women. I don't think I can make it all day." She said. I laughed.

"Did you get any rest?" I asked.

"Like an hour. But I spent it talking with Mark about names." She said frustrated.

"No luck?" I asked. Addison shook her head.

"None at all." She said.

"I'm sorry. Maybe you should just wait until they're born and it should just come to you when you see them." I suggested. Addison nodded.

"Well, I like to plan. I'm not good at just winging it. I get all stressed." Addison said.

"Well it's seems to me like you're more stressed with planning. Now when can I see Anthony?" I asked. Addison laughed.

"Later, you're still weak and at risk of serious complications." She told me.

"Seriously Addison?" I asked annoyed.

"Seriously Charlotte." She said. "Now I have to go check on the crash victims. Stay in bed." She told me and left the room. I sighed and stared up at the ceiling. All I wanted was to see Anthony.

Two days later

I swear to God if Addison doesn't let me see Anthony today, I'll kill her. Even Trenton and Mason had seen him. I was planning to jump her if she didn't. She came in looking stressed.

"Morning Addison." I told her.

"Yes." Addison replied.

"What?" I asked.

"Yes. You can see him today." Addison said. I grinned.

"Awesome. Well come on let's go." I said impatiently. Addison rolled her eyes and helped me into the wheelchair. She pushed me down to the nursery. She took me into Anthony's room. Anthony was sleeping soundly in his incubator. I smiled and took his hand. Addison smiled. A tear slipped down my cheek and my smile grew. "Hey Anthony, hey. I'm your mommy." I said. Cooper placed his hands on my shoulders.

"We did good." He whispered in my ear.

* * *

><p>Please review and vote on the names!<p> 


	23. Chapter 23

Two weeks later

"How come he doesn't do anything?" Trenton asked and made faces at Anthony.

"Because he's two weeks old Trenton." I told him.

"He's boring. Do you think they'll let me get my cast off today?" Trenton asked. I shrugged.

"I doubt it kiddo." I said. Trenton sighed.

"But it's been three months. Last time we came he told me I could probably get it off next visit." Trenton complained.

"You fell down the stairs last week, you could have shifted it. I'm just trying to keep you from getting your hopes up." I told him.

"Why didn't Mason come? He's much more entertaining then Anthony." Trenton said.

"He's got a baseball game today remember?" I asked.

"Oh yeah. Are we going to that?" Trenton asked.

"If you get done in time." I told him.

"Well then Dr. Preston needs to hurry up." Trenton said impatiently. A nurse came into the waiting room.

"Trenton Freedman-King." She called. Trenton jumped up and stood impatiently by the nurse while I gathered up my purse and Anthony before following them back to an exam room. "Take a seat on the table for me bud and Dr. Levi will be in shortly to take an x-ray." The nurse said kindly. Trenton jumped up onto the exam table. She smiled and left us alone. Trenton tapped his foot impatiently on the floor. Dr. Levi slipped in a few minutes later with the stuff to take Trenton's cast off.

"Hey Trent. Ready to see about going home without a cast?" Dr. Levi asked. Trenton nodded. Dr. Levi smiled and started cutting off Trenton's cast. Then he took Trenton to get an x-ray. Cooper called while I was waiting for Trenton to come back in.

"Hello?" I asked.

"Hey Char." Cooper said.

"What's up?" I asked.

"Do you think you and Trenton will make it to the game?" He asked.

"Trenton's getting an x-ray right now. So I don't know." I told him.

"Mason wanted to make sure you'd be here to root him on. What should I tell him?" Cooper asked.

"I don't know Coop. Be imaginative. Here's an idea. Tell him the truth." I said.

"Calm down Char. I'll let him know." Cooper said and hung up. Trenton came back in. He plopped down on the exam table again.

"How'd it go?" I asked.

"Dr. Levi said it looked a lil swollen still." Trenton told me sadly. I smiled.

"Maybe it'll be okay." I told him. Ten minutes later Dr. Preston and Dr. Levi came in.

"I hate to say this but it looks like you shifted the ulna. I'm going to have to re-align it. The good news is you'll only have to have a long cast for two more weeks." Dr. Preston said.

"You aren't going to put him under?" I asked. Dr. Levi shook his head.

"We'll give him some Morphine and numb the area." Dr. Levi explained. I nodded. I held Trenton's hand while they gave him the shots to numb it and the morphine. Then Dr. Preston put his hands on Trenton's arm while Dr. Levi placed his hands on Trenton's leg to keep him from moving around when they re-broke it.

"Alright big man, on the count of three okay?" Dr. Preston said. Trenton bravely nodded.

"One, two, three!" Dr. Levi yelled. Dr. Preston broke Trenton's arm. Trenton let out a blood curdling scream. I tensed and Anthony woke up crying. I picked Anthony up out of the carrier and bounced him until he quieted. Trenton was crying quietly as Dr. Levi began to cast it. I took him home when they were done. The poor kid needed a nice chill evening. I let him pick out his favorite movie and he fell asleep watching it. I smiled and kissed him on the cheek.


	24. Chapter 24

Two weeks later

Mason ran off to join his team in the dugout. Trenton sighed and plopped down in the lawn chair we had brought for him. I sat down in the chair next to him.

"What's wrong kiddo?" I asked.

"Am I ever going to get to play Baseball?" Trenton asked and ran his fingers along his cast.

"Of course you will kiddo. Just give it some. You'll play next season for sure, and you'll be in tip top condition for spring soccer season next month." I assured him.

"Here ya go kiddo, blue raspberry snow cone." Cooper said coming back from the concession stand. He sat down on the other side of me and handed me a Diet Coke.

"Thanks dad." Trenton murmured and started to eat it.

"What's wrong kiddo? Did I get the wrong flavor?" Cooper asked. Trenton shook his head.

"No it's good." He assured him.

"He's upset because he can't play." I whispered. Cooper nodded and picked Anthony up out of his carrier.

"So Anthony, this is called baseball. In miniature." Cooper said and bounced Anthony on his lap. I smiled and ruffled Trenton's hair.

"Cheer up kiddo." I told him. Trenton sighed and kicked the dirt with his foot.

"I'm sorry." He murmured.

"Oh kiddo, don't apologize for being upset about something okay?" I asked. Trenton nodded.

"Okay mom." He agreed.

"Oh Charlotte look, Mason's up to bat." Cooper remarked. I ruffled Trenton's hair and turned to watch Mason. The pitcher threw the ball and Mason sent it flying over third base. He took off running and slid into first base.

"Way to go Mase!" I cheered. Mason waved. Cooper made Anthony wave back.

Three weeks later

I woke up to the sound of my pager going off. I groaned and checked it. Addison 911. I shot out of bed and hurriedly got dressed. Cooper sat up sleepily.

"Charlotte what's wrong?" Cooper asked.

"Addison paged me 911." I told him.

"Oh okay. Call me when you find out what's up okay?" Cooper said. I nodded and left the room. I grabbed my phone off the kitchen counter on my way out to the SUV. I climbed in and drove as quickly as I could without getting a ticket to the ER. When I got there Mark was waiting for me.

"Mark what's wrong?" I asked.

"Addison went into preterm labor. We don't even have names picked out." Mark rambled.

"Where is she?" I asked.

"I'll take you to her." Mark said and started walking. I followed him at a quick pace. When we got to the room Addison was fast asleep with several IV's running into her arm. Her face was drenched in sweat and I knew she had been in a lot of pain. I sighed and plopped down in a chair near her bed.

"How many centimeters dilated is she?" I asked.

"Four." Mark said and collapsed into the chair closest to her head. He put his head in his hands.

"What if they don't make it?" Mark asked shakily.

"I'm sure they'll be okay. They're fighters just like their momma." I told him. He lifted his head out of his hands and smiled.

"She is strong. Stronger than I am." Mark said.

"You're strong too. Cooper was scared when I went into preterm labor. It doesn't make you weak because you're scared." I told him. Mark nodded. Addison stirred and sat up abruptly. She leaned forward and moaned in pain. Mark stood up and went over to her quickly. He helped her lay down again.

"Shh Addie it's okay." Mark said and pushed her hair out of her face.

"It really hurts Mark." She complained. In this moment I had never seen Addison so vulnerable and small. It was heartbreaking.

"Do you want me to get you an epidural?" Mark asked. Addison shook her head.

"No. I can do this." She said firmly.

"Addison. There is no shame in and epidural." I told her. Addison shook her head.

"I can do this." She repeated. "Mark did you call Callie?" Addison asked. Mark nodded.

"She's catching the next flight out here." Mark told her and stroked her cheek. Addison nodded slowly.

"Good. She should be here. I need her here." She said. Mark kissed her cheek.

"You're going to be okay. I love you." Mark whispered. I smiled.

Three hours later

Callie sighed and shifted in her chair. Addison was only eight centimeters dilated and it was two in the morning. We were all exhausted. Callie had gotten here about an hour ago. Naomi came in with Addison's chart.

"Okay Addie let's see where you are." Naomi said. Addison nodded and shifted uncomfortably. "You're only just now nine centimeters. I still can't believe you are doing this without an epidural." Naomi remarked and marked something down in Addison's chart. Addison gripped the bed railing and cried out in pain. She rolled on to her side and took a deep breath. Naomi left.

"I can't do this Mark." Addison said freaking out. I sighed and stood up. I went into the bathroom and emerged with a cold rag. I went over to Addison and dabbed her forehead with it. She relaxed only slightly.

"I know that this hurts like hell, I've been here I know. But you can do this. You are strong and you are a fighter and you can do this." I assured her. Addison drew in a shaky breath.

"I don't think I can, but I'll try." Addison said. I smiled.

"Good." I said and put the cool rag down on the table. I sat down in my chair again and rested my head on my hand. I somehow drifted off to sleep and woke up abruptly when Callie shook me gently.

"It's time for her to push." She told me. I rubbed my eyes and walked to stand on the opposite side of her bed from where Mark was standing. Addison looked scared out of her mind. I offered her my hand.

"Squeeze as hard as you need to." I told her. Addison smiled and gripped my hand. Mark offered her his and she took it with her other hand.

"Alright Addison, on the count of three I need you to push for ten seconds okay?" Naomi asked. Addison nodded.

"Okay." She breathed.

"Alright. One, two, three!" Naomi told her. Addison pushed and squeezed my hand. I bit my lip to keep from crying out.

One hour later

"Let me see your hand." Callie said.

"What?" I asked.

"Your hand. Come on you've been handling it awkwardly since Addison let go of it." Callie said.

"No it's fine. It just hurts a bit." I said.

"Charlotte let her see it." Addison said breathlessly. I sighed and held out my hand for Callie to examine.

"It's swollen." She said after a few minutes.

"It's fine." I insisted. Mark came into the room.

"How are they?" Addison asked.

"They're doing great. But we need to name them Addie." Mark said.

"I like Whitney Nicole Montgomery-Sloan." Addison told him.

"Okay what about the boy?" Mark asked.

"Why don't you name him?" Addison suggested.

"Nathan Alexander Montgomery-Sloan." Mark decided and kissed Addison on the forehead. "I'll have Naomi make out the birth certificates." Mark said. Addison smiled and Mark left.

"Charlotte come on let me run an x-ray." Callie insisted.

"No, there is no way someone squeezing your hand can break anything." I said stubbornly.

"Actually there is now come on." Callie said. Addison gave me that stern glare she likes to give and I sighed.

"Fine." I grumbled and followed Callie to an x-ray room.


	25. Chapter 25

Two weeks later

"Mason come on or you'll be late for the game!" I yelled up the staircase. Mason and Trenton came running down the stairs. The doctor had given Trenton a shorter cast last week.

"Is Aunt Addie coming?" Mason asked. I nodded.

"I think so." I told him. Mason grinned.

"Awesome, I've been working on my swing and I want to show Uncle Mark." Mason said excitedly. I smiled.

"Well get in the car." I told him and picked Anthony up out of his swing. "Come on little dude, we're going to the baseball fields to watch your big brother." I said. Anthony just looked at me. I smiled and shouldered the diaper bag.

"Mommy you didn't tie my shoes." Trenton said. The poor kid still couldn't lace up his sneakers in that cast. I nodded and sat Anthony back into his carrier. Then I laced up Trenton's sneakers. I grabbed Anthony again and herded everyone out to the car. Cooper had to work today so it was just me and three boys. I was praying I would make it through the day without killing myself. When we got to the baseball fields Mark and Addison were already there with Whitney and Nathan.

"Hey Charlotte." Addison said. She was holding Whitney in her arms and bouncing her gently. Whitney had big blue eyes and red hair just like her mother. She was beautiful.

"Look how big they've gotten." I said. Addison smiled.

"They're only two weeks Charlotte." She said. I smiled.

"I know but still." I said and sat the diaper bag down.

"Anthony is the one whose gotten so big!" Addison exclaimed.

"Mom can I go get a snow cone?" Trenton asked.

"Yeah sure kiddo, just let me find you a dollar." I said and sat Anthony down on the ground so I could get a dollar out of the bag. "Watch your brother while I look." I told Trenton. He nodded and stared at Anthony. I smiled and started digging through my bag. I pulled three dollars out. "Go get me a diet coke too please." I told him and handed him the money. He nodded and ran off. I picked Anthony back up and sat him down in his carrier. Then I set up the lawn chairs for me and Trenton next to Addison's. I sat down and picked Anthony back up. We watched Mason and his team warm up for awhile before Trenton returned. He handed me my diet coke and plopped down into his chair and ate his snow cone. I smiled and bounced Anthony.

Four weeks later

Mason's Birthday

"Good Morning birthday boy." I said when Mason wandered sleepily into the kitchen.

"Morning Charlotte." He yawned. Trenton came in behind him. He looked even more asleep than Mason, if that's even possible.

"Good morning Trenton." I said and grabbed the orange juice out of the fridge. I poured each of them a glass.

"Morning Mom." Trenton replied and slowly took a drink of his orange juice.

"How late were you two up playing Pokemon?" I asked.

"Midnight." Mason replied.

"You aren't teenagers yet, you need to go to bed earlier. Do you understand?" I asked. They nodded. Cooper came in cradling Anthony. I smiled and went over to him. I kissed Cooper lightly on the cheek.

"Morning beautiful." Cooper whispered.

"How is he this morning?" I asked.

"Good." Cooper reported. I smiled and took Anthony from him.

"Hey baby boy. Hey." I cooed.

"So Mase, how does it feel to be nine?" Cooper asked.

"No different." Mason reported.

"Yeah, you don't really feel different until you turn thirteen bud." Cooper said and ruffled his hair.

"What kind of cereal do we want today?" I asked.

"Lucky Charms?" Mason asked hopefully.

"Sure thing. Trenton?" I asked.

"Same." Trenton replied. I nodded and handed Anthony back to Cooper so I could fix the boys their cereal.

"So are you excited for Disneyland?" Cooper asked. Mason nodded.

"Yeah. It'll be cool." Mason said. I slid his bowl of cereal in front of him. He smiled and started to eat it. Trenton looked at his for a minute and then started to eat it. We dropped Anthony off at Amelia and Sheldon's about an hour later and headed for Disneyland.

Ten hours later

I rested my head against the car window and let out a deep sigh. Cooper smiled at me from the driver's seat.

"We did it." He declared. I glanced back at Mason and Trenton in the backseat they had fallen asleep two minutes on the road.

"We did it." I repeated. I was exhausted from running around an amusement park with two hyperactive nine year old boys all day.

"Do you think they had fun?" Cooper asked. I nodded.

"I think they had a little too much fun." I told him. Cooper laughed.

"Who would have thought we'd be the parents of three great boys?" Cooper asked. I smiled.

"No one. I sure didn't think we would. I'd like to be the parents of a girl eventually though." I joked. Cooper smiled.

"I would too. I want a daddy's little princess." Cooper told me. I smiled.

"Someday." I told him. He nodded.

"Once Anthony is older." He agreed. I smiled.

"Much older." I said. Cooper laughed.

"Deal." He agreed. Cooper pulled up to Amelia and Sheldon's house. "I'll go get him you stay here." He told me and killed the engine. I nodded. He climbed out of the car and walked up to the front door. He pressed the doorbell and waited a few minutes before Riley opened the door and let him in. He came out carrying Anthony. After he fastened him into his car seat Cooper got back in the driver's side and drove for home. I was more than ready to get home and crawl into bed. Once we got home I dragged a very sleepy Mason up to bed while Cooper drug an equally tired Trenton to bed. Then I tucked Anthony in and collapsed onto the bed. I was asleep before Cooper even got in the room.


	26. Chapter 26

**I know this is kind of a time jump but I wanted to move forward a bit because I was kind of running out of things to write and I have a lot planned for Charlotte and Cooper's family in the future. Mason and Trenton are now thirteen and Anthony, Whitney, and Nathan are four. Amelia and Sheldon's girl Riley is now twelve, and they have a three year old boy named Tucker. Sam and Naomi got back together and Callie moved to LA a month ago.**

Four years later

"Trenton come down here!" I yelled up the staircase. Trenton ran downstairs in his soccer uniform.

"Yeah mom what's up?" He asked.

"I was just asking if you were ready to leave for your game." I told him.

"Oh yeah well obviously." He said grinning.

"Go get Anthony ready for me will you? I have a few things I have to do and then we can go and I'll be done a lot faster if you go get Anthony ready for me." I told him. He nodded and flipped the hair out of his eyes.

"Sure thing." He said and took off up the stairs. My phone rang and I answered Cooper's call.

"Hey Coop what's up?" I asked.

"What time is Trenton's game?" He asked.

"Five thirty." I told him. "Are you going to make it?" I asked.

"I have to stay with this kid I don't know if I'll be done in time. Tell Trenton good luck and that I love him." Cooper told me.

"Okay, you're still going to be able to pick Mason up from baseball practice at six right?" I asked.

"Yeah. I'll find some way to get him." Cooper assured me.

"Okay. I love you, see you tonight, bye." I said and hung up. Twenty minutes later Trenton came down the stairs with Anthony on his shoulders.

"Put me down." Anthony complained. Trenton lifted him over his head and sat him back on the ground.

"There you go squirt." Trenton told him.

"You know it was fun when I was three." Anthony told Trenton annoyed. Trenton grinned and ruffled Anthony's hair.

"You're only one year older little man." Trenton told him.

"Quit calling me little man." Anthony begged. I grinned.

"Come on you two. Time to go." I said. Anthony pulled on his sandals and ran after me. Trenton grabbed his soccer bag and followed us out to the car. Addison was at the stadium when we got there. Whitney and Nathan were kicking around a tiny soccer ball. Anthony looked up at me expectantly.

"Mom I have to go warm up." Trenton said.

"Okay, go kick some butt." I told him. He smiled and ran off to join his team.

"Momma can I play with Whit and Nate?" Anthony asked. I smiled and nodded.

"Go ahead." I told him. Anthony grinned and ran off to join them.

"So how are things?" Addison asked. I laughed.

"You see me everyday at work. Nothing new has happened since yesterday." I told her.

"I know, I meant more of like how are you and Cooper? I thought you guys were trying for a girl now." Addison said.

"Oh you wanted to talk about that?" I laughed. Addison nodded.

"Yeah. Spill all the secrets." Addison begged. I grinned.

"Yeah, we tried last night." I told her.

"Ah. I see." Addison said smiling.

"You can be so much like a teenager sometimes." I said. Addison smiled.

"What can I say? I like gossip." Addison smirked.

"How's Callie?" I asked.

"You saw her at work yesterday, she's the same as always." Addison told me.

"Well I thought she had a date with someone last night." I said.

"She did." Addison replied.

"And?" I asked.

"She said he was really sweet but she wasn't sure if she wanted to get involved with him." Addison told me.

"Oh? So he's not for her?" I asked.

"Guess not. Is Cooper coming?" Addison asked.

"He got caught up at work. Mark isn't coming is he?" I asked. Addison shook her head.

"He had a surgery." Addison said.

"Oh right gotcha. Oh it's starting." I said and took a seat in the bleachers. Trenton kicked off for his team.

"God remember how small he used to be?" Addison asked twenty minutes into the game. I nodded.

"Yeah. I miss him being younger." I said. Addison smiled.

"They can't stay young forever." Addison said.

"I know, but can they stay young just a little bit longer?" I asked. Addison smiled.

"I wish." She sighed. Callie came over and sat down next to Addison.

"Hey." I said not looking away from the game.

"Hey." She replied. "Addison you know you're kids are playing in the ditch?" Callie asked.

"Uh no." Addison said and got up. I followed her. Whitney, Nathan, and Anthony were running up and down the ditch kicking the soccer ball around.

"ANTHONY! Get out of there." I yelled. Anthony came running out of the ditch.

"Momma we were just playing soccer." Anthony whined.

"Not in there you aren't." I scolded.

"Whitney and Nathan come here right now." Addison demanded. Nathan picked up the small soccer ball and ran over to Addison. Whitney hot on his heels. She tripped in a hole in the side of the ditch and fell backwards into the ditch.

"Whitney!" Anthony cried. Callie ran over and picked Whitney up. Whitney was crying. Callie carried her out of the ditch and laid her down on the grass.

"Tell me what hurts sweetie." Callie told her. Whitney took a deep breath and tried to stop crying.

"My ankle." She managed after a few seconds.

"Your right one?" Callie asked. Addison knelt down next to Whitney. Whitney nodded. Callie pulled Whitney's shoe off slowly and pulled her sweat pants leg up causing her to start crying again.

"How does it look?" Addison asked.

"I think it's broken." Callie told her.

"Crap." Addison breathed.

"Is Whitney going to be okay momma?" Nathan asked.

"She's going to be fine Nate Nate." Addison assured him. I heard the whistle blow and I knew it was half time. Trenton would be looking for me.

"I have to go. Let me know okay?" I told Addison. She nodded. I grabbed Anthony's hand and led him over to the field. Trenton spotted us and ran over.

"Did you see my bicycle kick?" Trenton asked. I nodded.

"That was really cool kiddo." I told him.

"I'm not a kid anymore mom." Trenton said annoyed and took a sip of water.

"Right sorry, I forgot you're a big old teenager who knows everything right?" I said sarcastically. Trenton rolled his eyes.

"Freedman! Let's Go!" Trenton's coach yelled. Trenton smiled and took off to join his team in a huddle. I smiled and sat down on the bleachers. Anthony climbed up and joined me. My phone rang with ten minutes left in the game. I answered Addison's call.

"Hey Addison how is she?" I asked.

"She has a an ankle fracture. Nothing too big. Callie said she'd be good with a walking cast. So no crutches." Addison explained.

"Well that's good." I said.

"Very good. She would die on crutches. How's the game going?" Addison asked.

"Good. There's ten minutes left and they're winning by two. Will you guys still be at the hospital by then or should we come over to the house to see her?" I asked.

"Home. Callie just discharged her." Addison told me.

"That was fast." I noted.

"Priority patients." Addison said. I laughed.

"Right forgot we had that advantage. I'll see you guys soon." I said and hung up. Trenton pulled another bicycle kick. He hit the ground hard and didn't move. The team medic ran onto the field and I swear I felt my heart stop. "Oh my God." I breathed.

"Momma why isn't Trenton moving?" Anthony asked.

"I don't know squirt." I said my voice breaking.

"Is he okay?" Anthony asked.

"I hope so squirt." I said trying my best not to cry. If I cried Anthony would know something bad was up and then all hell would break loose. The medic slowly helped Trenton sit up. The medic asked Trenton something and Trenton nodded slowly in response. The medic moved down to look at Trenton's knee. When he touched it Trenton leaned over and threw up. That was not a good sign. I pulled out my phone and dialed Addison's number.

"Hello? Charlotte what's up?" Addison asked.

"Trenton's hurt. We won't be able to come see Whitney. Can you tell Callie to stay at the hospital an page Amelia there too? I left my pager at home in our rush to get out the door." I explained.

"Okay. I will. Is he okay?" Addison asked.

"I don't know. He hurt his knee and I think he might have a concussion. They're helping him to the sidelines now and I think a coach is coming to get me. Oh yeah, here he comes. I'll call you later. Got to go. Bye." I said and hung up. I turned to face the coach.

"Trenton needs to be taken to the ER. Dr. Walden suspects a concussion and a possible torn ACL." The coach explained. I nodded and grabbed my purse. I took Anthony by the hand and led him over to Trenton. Trenton was leaning his head on the back of the bench. His face was scrunched up in a look of pain and nausea. Coach Field picked up Trenton and carried him out to our car. He sat Trenton down gently in the backseat. I nodded my thanks and loaded up. Then we drove off for St. Ambrose.


	27. Chapter 27

Four hours later

Callie came in to the waiting room with her scrub cap still on.

"How is he?" I asked.

"He's good. The surgery went well. I was able to do an surgery arthroscopic which is minimally invasive. I can take you to see him if you'd like." Callie said. I nodded and woke up Anthony.

"Hey squirt. Let's go see Trenton okay?" I asked. Anthony nodded.

"Momma can you carry me?" Anthony asked. I glanced at Cooper who nodded and picked Anthony up.

"I gotcha squirt. Come on." Cooper said and tickled him. Anthony giggled. Callie led us into Trenton's room. He was still asleep.

"Momma why does Trenton have a tube in his nose?" Anthony asked.

"It's to help him breathe." Cooper explained.

"Why can't he breathe?" Anthony asked.

"He can. That's just to make sure he continues to be able to." Cooper explained.

"Oh. Okay. Why is he asleep?" Anthony asked and rubbed his eyes.

"He's tired and it looks like you are too. Cooper why don't you run him home. I'll stay here." I suggested. Cooper nodded and scooped Anthony up again.

"Come on squirt. You need to go to bed. It's past nine." Cooper said and carried Anthony out. I sat down in a chair near Trenton's head. Callie sighed and sat down in a chair at the other end of the room.

"Can I ask you something?" Callie asked.

"Yeah, what's up?" I asked.

"Have you ever lost someone you loved?" She asked.

"Is this about what happened to Arizona and Sofia?" I asked. She nodded.

"Yeah, I can't stop thinking about that night, and how I didn't die, but they did." Callie said and pulled her scrub cap off.

"Do you blame yourself?" I asked.

"Yes." She said.

"Why? There wasn't anything you could do." I said.

"I should have died with them." Callie said.

"It hit their side, don't wish you were dead it wasn't your fault. The truck driver lost control and hit their side. There was nothing you could do." I told her. A tear escaped her eye and she whipped it away quickly.

"I just miss them." She said. I nodded.

"I know." I said.

"Mom?" Trenton asked roughly.

"Hey kiddo. How do you feel?" I asked.

"My knee hurts." Trenton said.

"I'll go get you some more Morphine." Callie said and left the room.

"I like Aunt Callie." Trenton remarked. I smiled and sat down at the end of his bed on the opposite side of his bad knee. "What happened?" Trenton asked.

"You don't remember?" I asked. Trenton shook his head.

"No I was running down to score and then everything went fuzzy." Trenton told me.

"You went to do a bicycle kick and something went wrong. You tore your ACL and you have a minor concussion." I explained.

"So I'm out for the season?" Trenton asked.

"I'm sorry kiddo." I said. Callie came in and gave him some Morphine.

Two days later

"Ready to go home kiddo?" I asked. Trenton nodded and let Callie help him into the wheelchair. I gabbed his bag and followed them out to the parking lot. Cooper was waiting at the door with the car. He lifted Trenton gently up out of the chair and placed him in the backseat. When we got home Addison was there with Mark and the kids. She had brought us dinner.

"I figured you wouldn't feel up to making anything." Addison said.

"Oh you didn't have to do that." I said and took the dish from her. "Have you talked to Callie lately?" I asked and sat the dish down on the counter.

"Yeah. She seems upset." Addison said.

"She still blames herself." I told her.

"The accident was five months ago. I thought she was doing better. I mean she's been on three dates with three different guys." Addison said.

"Going through the loss of your wife and child has got to be tough. I mean we can't even imagine the grief she must feel." I said. Addison nodded.

"Yeah, you're right. She just needs some time I guess." Addison said.

"Yeah. I'm still worried though." I said. Trenton made his way over to me on crutches.

"Mom I'm starving." Trenton complained.

"Well you are in luck, Aunt Addison made some kind of casserole. Why don't you relax on the couch and I'll bring you a plate okay?" I suggested. Trenton nodded and went to sit down in the living room. Mason ran downstairs.

"What's that?" Mason asked when he saw the casserole.

"Ah yes. You came running when you smelt food didn't you?" I asked. Mason smirked and dished some casserole on to a plate.

"Where's Trenton?" Mason asked.

"Living room. Don't touch his knee." I said sternly and handed him Trenton's plate too.

"Yes mom." Mason said and disappeared into the living room.

"How's Whitney?" I asked.

"Good she got her pink cast yesterday. She was so excited." Addison said. I grinned.

"I bet she was. Where are they by the way?" I asked.

"Nathan and Whitney?" She asked clarifying. I nodded. "Oh they're upstairs with Anthony." Addison said. I nodded.

"As long we don't hear any loud crashes or screaming they should be okay." I joked. Addison smiled. Mark came into the kitchen. He kissed Addison before going to the fridge and pulling out a water.

"Did you tell her?" Mark asked. Addison shook her head.

"I'm getting to that. Go back outside and talk about cars with Cooper." Addison said and kissed him on his way out of the kitchen.

"Tell me what?" I asked.

"I'm pregnant." Addison confessed.

"Addison that's great. How?" I asked.

"We tried fertility again and it worked." Addison told me.

"That's fantastic! How far are you?" I asked.

"Six weeks." Addison said.

"When did you find out?" I asked.

"The day before Trenton's soccer game. I was going to tell you then but things happened." Addison explained.

"Oh yeah. Things happened all right." I agreed. Addison smiled.

"So you and Cooper still not having any luck?" Addison asked.

"Nope. Not that we've really had time to try recently." I said. Addison nodded.

"That's true." She agreed. "Well I think we should head home. I'm going to go round up the kids. Take care and if you need anything don't hesitate to ask." Addison said and left the kitchen. I went into the living room to see what Trenton and Mason were up to. Mason was sucked into watching some TV show and Trenton was fast asleep on the couch with his plate of food half eaten and sitting on his lap. I smiled and took the plate. I went into the kitchen and cleaned it up then I went outside to get Cooper. He was sitting in a lawn chair watching the waves crash on the shore. He had a beer in his hand.

"Hey." I said coming up behind him. He smiled and turned his head to look at me.

"Hey. What's up?" He asked.

"Trenton crashed on the couch can you carry him up to his room?" I asked. Cooper nodded and stood up. He kissed me on his way by. I smiled and walked down to the beach. I pulled my flip flops off and let my feet sink into the sand.


	28. Chapter 28

Two weeks later

"Come on Anthony. Time to go to the eye doctor squirt." I said and tried to get the Pokemon cards out of his hand. Mason and Trenton had given their cards to Anthony on his fourth birthday. They claimed they were too old for them now.

"No. I don't wanna get glasses." Anthony whined.

"Oh come they look adorable on you." I pleaded.

"No. They're not cool. Only nerds wear glasses." Anthony said.

"Who told you that? Aunt Addie wears glasses sometimes." I said.

"Trenton and Mason told me that. Aunt Addie's different. It's okay for adults to wear glasses but kids look goofy." Anthony argued.

"Mason! Trenton! Come here please!" I yelled. A few minutes later Trenton hobbled in on his crutches with Mason right behind him.

"Yeah mom?" Mason asked.

"Did you tell Anthony glasses were for nerds?" I asked. Mason glanced at Trenton.

"Yeah. So what? We were just goofing off." Mason said. I sighed.

"Well now I can't get him to go put his shoes on so we can go get his glasses. So who wants to explain to him that cool people wear glasses too. If you can't convince him quick I just might take the xbox away for awhile." I threatened. Mason sighed and got down on the floor next to Anthony.

"Hey Tony. Listen you know my best friend Andrew?" Mason asked. Anthony nodded.

"Yeah the tall one with the glasses who plays basketball?" Anthony asked.

"Yeah him. He's not a nerd. In fact he's really cool, and he wears glasses." Mason said.

"Yeah, and my best friend Colton wears them when he reads and he's cool." Trenton said.

"I'll still be cool if I get them right?" Anthony asked. Mason smiled.

"Of course you will." He told Anthony.

"You'll still talk to me and play with me?" Anthony clarified. Mason and Trenton nodded.

"Of course." Trenton said. Anthony put his cards down.

"Fine. I'll go get my shoes." He decided and ran off. I smiled.

"Good job, you can keep the xbox." I said and left the room. Anthony was waiting for me by the door when I got downstairs. I smiled and grabbed my purse.

"Let's go momma." Anthony said impatiently.

"You know something squirt, you look up to your brothers way too much for your own good." I said and followed him out the door.

"Hey momma?" Anthony asked after I had been driving for roughly five minutes.

"What squirt?" I asked.

"Can we get some ice cream afterwards?" Anthony asked.

"If you're really good and you do exactly what you're told then yes we can get some ice cream. Just don't tell your brothers." I told him. Anthony grinned.

"Okay." He agreed. I smiled and pulled into the eye doctor's parking lot.

"Ready squirt?" I asked after I had killed the engine. Anthony nodded.

"Let's do this thing." He said. I smiled and climbed out of the car. I opened the backseat door and helped Anthony out of his booster seat.

"When can I get rid of the booster seat?" Anthony asked.

"When you grow squirt." I said. Anthony rolled his eyes. I smiled and opened the door for him.

Thirty minutes later

"So are we gonna get ice cream?" Anthony asked hopefully as we walked out of the doctor's office.

"Sure thing squirt." I decided. Anthony grinned.

"Sweet!" Anthony cheered. I smiled and helped him in to his booster seat. Then I climbed in the driver's side an drove off. I stopped on the way home and bought Anthony a sundae from McDonald's. He looked so cute with his little glasses. When we got home Mason and Trenton were in the backyard. Trenton was chilling in a lawn chair facing the ocean and Mason was sitting in another chair facing the ocean, throwing his baseball up in the air and then catching it. I smiled.

"Hey Ant, go show Trenton and Mason." I told Anthony after I helped him out of his booster seat. Anthony ran over to Trenton.

"Look Trent!" He exclaimed proudly.

"You look good little man." Trenton said and ruffled Anthony's hair. Anthony went over to Mason next.

"Look Mase!" He exclaimed. Mason smiled.

"See Tony, told you that you wouldn't be a nerd. They look nice." Mason said. Anthony smiled.

"I don't know what you were worried about squirt. I think you look super cool." I told him. Anthony smiled.

"Can I go swim?" Anthony asked.

"Not today squirt." I told him.

"Aw come on mommy. Please." Anthony begged.

"No way squirt. It's yellow flag today." I told him. Anthony sighed and marched inside. I sighed and followed him inside.


	29. Chapter 29

Three Weeks Later

"First day of seventh grade, are you boys excited?" I asked. Mason shook his head.

"Not at all." He said. I laughed.

"What about you Trenton?" I asked. Trenton was staring off into space.

"Oh yeah, sure." He said but didn't look away from his trance.

"You okay kiddo?" I asked. Trenton nodded.

"Yeah, I'm fine mom." Trenton told me. Anthony came downstairs rubbing his eyes under his glasses.

"You look so cute in those glasses Ant." I told him.

"Mommy, I'm a big kid now, I no cute." Anthony said annoyed. I smiled.

"You will always be my cute little boy." I told him. He rolled his eyes.

"It's okay Ant, she still calls me kiddo." Trenton told him. Anthony grinned.

"That's funny." Anthony giggled.

"So are you going to work with me today or the park with Uncle Mark?" I asked Anthony.

"Uncle Mark!" Anthony told me excitedly.

"Go call him." I told him. Anthony nodded and ran off.

"So, do you want to take a lunch or eat school lunch?" I asked Mason and Trenton.

"School." Mason said.

"Take." Trenton told me. I laughed.

"Do you guys agree to disagree?" I asked. Mason shook his head.

"No, we just like different things." Mason said.

"Joking Mr. Smarty Pants." I snapped and started to pack Trenton's lunch. I started to prepare Trenton's mayonnaise and ham sandwich. I caught a whiff of the mayonnaise and instantly wanted to hurl.

"Mom are you okay?" Trenton asked. I nodded and swallowed the nausea.

"I'm fine, go get your shoes and backpacks." I told them. They nodded and went upstairs. I finished Trenton's sandwich and quickly capped the mayonnaise. This was the third time this week that smells had been making me sick. I had a feeling I was pregnant. Anthony came back into the room.

"Uncle Mark said he was on his way." Anthony told me.

"Okay, go get your shoes on." I told him. Anthony nodded and took off upstairs as Mason was coming down. Trenton still had issues getting up and down the stairs. He had to have crutches a few more weeks. Callie had said that it was healing nicely but she was afraid if she took him off crutches he wouldn't be careful enough. Anthony came back down the stairs the same time Mark honked. I gave Anthony a quick kiss and watched him climb into Mark's car. I waved as they pulled out of the driveway. Then I loaded up Trenton and Mason and took them to school. By the time I got to the office I was exhausted. I plopped down in a chair behind my desk and before I knew it I was fast asleep. Addison knocking on my door woke me up.

"Good morning sleepy." Addison said.

"Sorry, the kids were incredibly tiresome this morning." I told her.

"It's cool. I understand. Whitney and Nathan were arguing all morning over a stupid teddy bear." Addison told me.

"Wow, I'm sorry. Do you need something?" I asked.

"Oh yeah, Cooper told me to tell you he was going to be late tonight." Addison told me.

"Okay. I don't know how Mason's getting home from practice then." I said and ran my right hand through my hair.

"Mark can get him. He has the day off." Addison told me. I nodded.

"Thanks." I told her.

"Are you okay? You look exhausted." Addison told me.

"I think I'm pregnant and Cooper's been working so much lately I've been taking care of the boys and running them everywhere. I'm beyond exhausted." I said and put my head down on my desk. Addison came around behind my desk and rubbed my back.

"Do you want me to make sure you are pregnant?" She asked. I nodded and lifted my head off my desk.

"That would be really helpful." I told her. Addison smiled and I followed her out of my office and down the hall to an exam room. I sat down on the table while she took some blood.

"I'll have Dell put a rush on this." Addison said and left the room. I sighed and picked at the tape that was holding the gauze down over the site where the needle pierced my skin. Addison came back in a few minutes later. "Dell sent it off right away." Addison told me and pushed her hair behind her ear. I nodded and rubbed my temples.

"Don't stress yourself out, because if you are pregnant you could have a miscarriage." Addison told me. I sighed. She was right. But how could I not stress with all of these kids running around? Addison's hand flew to her mouth and she made it to the trash can just in time to throw up her breakfast. Once she was finished she whipped her mouth and washed her hands.

"I forgot how much I hated morning sickness." Addison groaned. I sighed.

"Yeah, I feel you." I agreed. "How many weeks are you now?" I asked.

"Eleven weeks." Addison said and rubbed her stomach.

"No complications?" I asked. Addison shook her head.

"Not so far anyway." Addison told me.

"That's good!" I told her. Addison nodded.

"Yeah, I hope it stays that way." She said.

"Have you told the twins yet?" I asked. Addison nodded.

"Whitney is excited." Addison told me.

"What about Nathan?" I asked.

"Nathan is indifferent." She told me. I nodded.

"Not everyone gets it at age four." I agreed. Addison nodded.

"Yeah, I don't think he really understands what is going on right now." She told me.

"He'll get it eventually. I'm a little worried about how Anthony is going to react if I'm pregnant yet. Trenton and Mason will probably be indifferent." I decided. Addison nodded and went over to the cabinet. She pulled out a container of hard candies and grabbed a candy out of it.

"Want one?" She asked and popped the candy into her mouth. I shook my head. Someone knocked on the door. "Who is it?" Addison asked and put the candies hurriedly back into the cabinet. Dell opened the door.

"I got the test results back." He said and handed Addison the results. Addison nodded.

"Thanks Dell." Addison said. Dell waved at me on his way out.

"Bye Charlotte." He said and closed the door behind him. Addison pulled the results out of the sleeve and studied them carefully.

"Well you are pregnant." Addison told me. "Do you want to find out how far along you are?" Addison asked. I nodded.

"Sure, I mean since we are already here and everything." I said and laid down on the table. I pulled up my shirt and Addison started the ultrasound. After a few minutes she pointed to the screen.

"There is your baby." She said pointing to the small fetus. "It looks like you are about five weeks." Addison told me. I nodded.

"It's really happening again." I said and pushed my bangs back. Addison smiled.

"You might finally get your girl." Addison grinned.


	30. Chapter 30

**I apologize for the long wait between updates! I've been so busy and sometimes as a writer you just have no idea where to go in a story. However this chapter idea came to me out of the blue. I hope you like it! Please review!**

Five weeks later

I climbed up the stairs to the second floor of our house and knocked on Trenton's door. When no one answered I opened the door and went in. Trenton was still fast asleep with his knee propped on a mountain of pillows. Callie was going to take him off crutches last week but another MRI had revealed that it wasn't healing at the rate it should have been and he needed to be on crutches for two more weeks. Trenton wasn't very happy because it meant that football season was a no go. I flicked the lights on.

"Come on kiddo, wake up time for school." I told him. Trenton groaned and buried his face in the pillows.

"No." He mumbled.

"Trenton Christopher Freedman, get your lazy butt out of bed." I snapped. Trenton sat and rubbed his eyes.

"Fine. I'm up." He grumbled and climbed slowly out of bed. He grabbed his crutches and started to get ready. I smiled satisfied and went to wake up Mason. I knocked on his door and went inside. I found him asleep with his head on his desk. I gently shook him awake.

"Mom?" He asked sleepily and rubbed his eyes.

"Time to get ready for school kiddo." I told him. He sighed and stood up.

"What were you working on so late?" I asked.

"Math homework." He admitted.

"Start your homework earlier tonight." I told him sternly. He nodded and I left his room. I went to wake up Anthony next. His door was open because he was afraid of complete darkness. He was buried deep under the covers. I smiled and sat down on the end of his bed. He looked so much like Cooper except for his eyes, they were the same gorgeous blue as mine.

"Anthony. Squirt time to wake up." I told him. He moaned and slowly opened his baby blue eyes. They looked glossy today.

"I don't feel good momma." He mumbled. I felt his forehead. It was pretty warm.

"What feels funny squirt?" I asked.

"My throat hurts momma." He moaned. I sighed and stood up.

"Hold on squirt. I'll be right back." I told him. He nodded and buried himself further into the covers. I dug through the bathroom drawers until I found the thermometer. I went back to Anthony's room and found asleep again. I sighed and gently shook him awake again. He slowly opened his eyes.

"Hey momma." He said softly. I smiled.

"Hey Squirt, open for me real quick." I said. He nodded and opened his mouth. I stuck the thermometer in his mouth and pushed the hair out of his eyes. A few minutes later the thermometer beeped and I pulled it out. He was running a fever. I sighed.

"Go back to sleep squirt. You can stay home today." I told him. Anthony nodded sleepily and closed his eyes again. I sighed and left the room. I called Cooper while I was fixing Trenton and Mason's lunch.

"Hey Char. What's up?" Cooper asked.

"Coop, Anthony's running a fever. I'm going to take him to Dr. Weston's office after the bus comes to get Trenton and Mason." I told him.

"Oh no. Okay, tell squirt that I hope he feels better super fast and I'll bring him some of that soup from Panera Bread that he loves." Cooper told me. I smiled and nodded.

"I will." I told him.

"Hey Char, be careful. You're carrying precious cargo again." He told me.

"I know Coop." I said slightly annoyed and rubbed my stomach. I had a bump already. It was small, but it was there. We had told the kids last week. Trenton and Mason didn't really care but Anthony was incredibly excited. I was ten weeks now.

"Okay, I'll see you tonight, oh, I'll tell Sam that you aren't coming in today." Cooper added.

"Oh yeah! I forgot to call in and tell him Anthony's sick." I said zipping up Trenton's lunch box and started to pack Mason's.

"I figured." Cooper laughed. "I'll see you tonight. I love you babe." Cooper said.

"I love you too." I told him and hung up. Mason and Trenton came down the stairs. Trenton had his backpack on already and was looking slightly ticked off. I put his lunch box in his backpack for him. Mason grabbed his off the counter. The boys weren't allowed to have backpacks at their school but since Trenton was on crutches they allowed him one. Mason went out to wait on the bus but I stopped Trenton.

"Mom I can't miss the bus." He said annoyed.

"Are you okay kiddo?" I asked. He nodded.

"Yeah, I'm fine why?" He asked.

"You seem upset." I pressed.

"It's nothing." He shrugged and went around me. I sighed, teenagers. I went back upstairs to Anthony's room. He wasn't asleep this time. He was sitting up in bed looking around dazed. He looked up at me when I came into the room.

"Hi momma." He said softly.

"Hey Anthony. How about we get you dressed and then take you to see Dr. Weston to see if he can help you feel better okay?" I suggested. Anthony nodded slowly. I helped him slip into a Lakers jersey and some cargo shorts. I slipped his converse on for him and he followed me out to the car. When we got to Dr. Weston's office I signed him in and sat down next to him in the waiting room. He sighed softly and leaned on me. After about fifteen minutes the nurse called us back. She took his blood pressure and asked about a hundred questions. Then left us to wait for Dr. Weston. He came back to see us a few minutes later.

"Hey Anthony, so I hear you're not feeling well. It says you've got a sore throat and a fever, so we're going to run a few tests and see if we can't figure what bug has got you so we can give you some medicine and get you feeling better. Okay?" Dr. Weston asked. Anthony nodded slowly. Dr. Weston pulled out a syringe out of his pocket. Anthony glanced up at me with wide eyes. "Okay buddy, I need to take some blood real quick okay?" He asked. Anthony nodded and bravely stuck his arm out for Dr. Weston. He smiled reassuringly and pushed the needle into Anthony's arm. Anthony watched as his blood slowly filled the syringe but he didn't flinch. I smiled proudly as Dr. Weston bandaged up Anthony's arm. He ran several tests and sent them off to lab promising to return soon. Anthony fell asleep while we waited for the results. He was jerked from his sleep when the door opened. Dr. Weston sat down in front of Anthony. "So, it appears that Anthony's got strep throat." Dr. Weston told me and smiled sympathetically at Anthony. Anthony rested his head on my shoulder.

"Now what?" He asked sleepily. I smiled.

"Well buddy, we're going to give you two shots and send you home with some medicine that you need to take twice a day okay?" Dr. Weston explained. Anthony nodded. Twenty minutes later we left Dr. Weston's. I stopped at Wal-Mart on the way home and bought Anthony a box of popsicles. We spent the day curled up on the couch with his Iron Man blanket watching episodes of the Looney Tunes.


	31. Six to One

I sat up in bed and rubbed my eyes. I heard soft crying coming from somewhere. Cooper was still fast asleep next to me. I climbed out of bed and wandered out of the bedroom in search of the noise. It was coming from Anthony's room. I went into it and flicked on his Iron Man lamp. He moaned and looked up at me with pain in his eyes.

"Momma, my head hurts now too." He grumbled. I felt his forehead. He was much warmer. I sighed and checked his temperature. It was definitely higher even though most fevers go down at night and that worried me.

"Hold on baby, let me go get daddy." I told him and left Anthony's room. I crept into the master bedroom and gently shook Cooper awake.

"Char, what's wrong?" Cooper asked.

"Anthony's gotten worse Coop, you're a pediatrician I wanted you to come take a look at him." I told him. Cooper got out of bed quickly and followed me to Anthony's room. Anthony was staring at the glow in the dark stars on his ceiling and fighting back tears. Cooper checked his temperature and did an exam of his throat and mouth.

"Char, he's pretty dehydrated, I think we should take him to the hospital for some fluids." Cooper told me.

"What are we going to do with Mason and Trenton?" I asked.

"Do you think Addison could watch them?" He asked.

"Coop it's four in the morning." I argued.

"Well what else is there to do?" He asked. I nodded. He had a point. I sighed and pulled out my cell phone.

"I'm sorry." I whispered and hit dial on Addison's number. She answered on the fourth ring.

"Charlotte, is everything okay?" Addison asked sleepily.

"No not exactly." I told her.

"Is it the baby, did you miscarry?" Addison asked wide awake and worried now.

"No, I didn't miscarry. Anthony is really dehydrated, Cooper and I were going to take him into the hospital for some fluids and we were wondering if we could drop Trenton and Mason off there." I explained.

"Yeah, sure. Just drop them off on your way to the hospital." Addison told me. I smiled.

"Thank you so much, see you in a minute." I said and hung up. I left Anthony's room and went to wake up Trenton and Mason. Trenton groaned and pulled the covers in tighter.

"Mom no I don't feel good." Trenton moaned. I sighed, he better be lying, this sickness could not be going around the whole house. I felt his forehead. It was warm too. I sighed. This was not good. Trenton sat up and threw up all over his covers. He flopped back down into bed.

"Cooper!" I yelled. Cooper came running.

"Oh my God. Trenton." He sighed and checked Trenton's temperature.

"Yeah, you've got a fever too, but this isn't strep." Cooper groaned.

"Now what do we do?" I asked. Cooper sighed.

"You take Anthony to the hospital and Mason to Addison's. I'll stay here with Trenton. I'll call ahead to the hospital and tell them you are coming and exactly what to give Anthony." Cooper told me. I nodded and went to round up Anthony and Mason.

A few hours later (10am)

Anthony was still at the hospital on IV fluids. Cooper called me with hourly updates on Trenton and Addison had dropped Mason off at school three hours ago. I was exhausted and accidentally fell asleep watching Anthony sleep. Addison shook me awake a few minutes after I had closed my eyes.

"Charlotte, maybe you should go crash in an on call room. They can keep Anthony until you get a good rest. You need lots of sleep, you're pregnant again." Addison reminded me. I sighed and nodded. I got to my feet and kissed Anthony on the forehead before leaving the room in search of an on call room. I found one and crashed.

Two days later

Anthony was doing much better but he still wasn't allowed at school. Trenton was going back to school today. It had been like a 36 hour bug. Mason hadn't caught anything yet but I had woken up not feeling good this morning. I had my ten week appointment with Addison today and then I was going to skip work and come home. I loaded Mason and Trenton up in the car and drove them to school today instead of making them ride the bus. I met Addison in the usual exam room. She was waiting for me. On the ultrasound she had a frozen image of a fetus.

"Is that yours?" I asked gesturing to the screen. Addison nodded and rubbed her belly bump. "Everything okay?" I asked. Addison nodded.

"A little too okay." Addison told me.

"How so?" I asked.

"Multiples must really run in Mark's family." Addison said.

"Are you pregnant with twins again?" I asked. Addison shook her head.

"Worse." She said.

"Triplets?" I asked. Addison nodded.

"Yeah, identical." Addison breathed.

"Oh my God Addison. Are you okay with this?" I asked. Addison shrugged.

"I guess so, I mean I'm older and we did IFV both of those raise the chances of multiples and Twins run in Mark's family. So the odds of multiples were high. I just never thought triplets." Addison said.

"Well, you were really big for only sixteen weeks." I admitted. Addison nodded.

"I just thought because it was my second pregnancy." Addison confessed. I nodded.

"Well, you and Mark are awesome parents, you can do it." I told them. Addison nodded.

"So, do you know what the sexes are?" I asked. Addison nodded.

"Jake ran the ultrasound. So he told me. I'm having two boys and a girl." Addison told me. I nodded.

"That's a good combination." I said. Addison nodded.

"Well come on let's see how you are doing." Addison said. I nodded and laid down on the exam table. I lifted my shirt up and Addison squirted the gel onto my still flat stomach. She moved the radar around.

"Charlotte, I don't know how I missed this, but you're having twins." Addison told me.

"Twins? Twins? Oh God. If they're both boys I am kidnapping Whitney from you." I laughed. Addison smiled.

"Sorry, you can't have her. It'll be the three against four in my house." Addison laughed.

"Addison it'll be six to one." I laughed. Addison glanced at me.

"Oh, I am so sorry." Addison apologized. I smiled.

"How about we go get some breakfast?" I suggested. Addison smiled and nodded.


	32. Sickness Gone Wrong

I had decided to stay at work after Addison and I got back from breakfast. I figured it was just morning sickness. I couldn't believe that I was having twins. Ten weeks pregnant with twins. I wasn't sure how I was going to break the news to Cooper. I was contemplating it intently not being able to focus on my work when the phone rang. I answered.  
>"This is Dr. Charlotte King." I answered.<br>"This is Creekside Middle school's Nurse Adams, I'm calling about Trenton, he's throwing up." The school nurse told me. I sighed I thought he had gotten rid of the bug.  
>"Okay, let me call my husband and figure out who can come get him." I told her.<br>"Okay, we'll keep him in my office until you come." She told me. I nodded and hung up. I called Cooper who was home with Anthony.  
>"Hey Char." Cooper said when he answered the phone.<br>"Hey Coop. Trenton's at school throwing up. Can you pick him up?" I asked.  
>"Oh yeah, I'll go get him." Cooper told me.<br>"Will you run him by the doctor too?" I asked.  
>"Yeah, I'll just take Anthony with me." He told me.<br>"Thanks Coop. I'll pick Mason up from baseball." I told him.  
>"That'd be great. I'll see you at home. I love you, bye Char." Cooper told me.<br>"I love you too Coop." I said and hung up. Addison came into my office with Callie.  
>"Everything okay?" Addison asked rubbing her hand over her very prominent baby bump.<br>"Trenton's sick again." I replied. Addison nodded.  
>"Addison said you were having twins." Callie said. I nodded.<br>"Yep. I am." I smiled.  
>"Hopefully they're both girls." Callie joked. I nodded.<br>"God I really hope so." I agreed. Addison sat down on the couch.  
>"My back is not liking this." She mumbled.<br>"How was your date last night?" I asked Callie. She smiled.  
>"It was great." She said smiling.<br>"What's his name?" I asked.  
>"Oh she went out with Jake. They've been having sex every night for the past two weeks." Addison said grinning wildly. I smirked.<br>"Addie!" Callie exclaimed embarrassed.  
>"Is he good in bed?" I asked enjoying every minute of this. Amelia came into my office with Riley in tow.<br>"Everything okay Amelia?" Addison asked sitting up a bit and embracing Riley in a hug.  
>"Aunt Addison the baby is growing really fast." Riley observed. Riley was the same age as Mason and Trenton. Addison laughed.<br>"I'm having triplets Riley." She told her.  
>"Wow." Riley whistled and went back to texting.<br>"No, Addison I need to talk to you." Amelia said.  
>"Why aren't you at school Riley?" I asked after Addison and Amelia had left. It was just Callie and Riley now.<br>"I started my first period." Riley confessed.  
>"How are you feeling?" Callie asked.<br>"Cramping. And seriously craving some M&M's." Riley confessed. I smiled and pulled a dollar out of my purse.  
>"We have M&amp;m's at the vending machine." I told her. She smiled and took the dollar. Then she left the room.<br>"God I remember when they first adopted her. She was only nine." I mused. Callie smiled.  
>"Sofia would be four." Callie remarked.<br>"Oh Cal, I'm sorry." I said rubbing my stomach. She must hate being surrounded by pregnant people.  
>"It's okay. I think I'm finally working towards happy again." She told me truthfully.<br>Hour later  
>My phone rang and I answered Cooper's call.<br>"Hey Cooper. What's up?" I asked.  
>"Char, I have bad news." Cooper began.<br>"What's wrong?" I asked my heart pounding.  
>"Char, Trenton's cancer is back." Cooper told me. A tear slid down my cheek.<br>"No, oh my God, how bad is it?" I asked.  
>"It's attacking his liver Char." He told me.<br>"No, no. This cannot be happening." I said full on crying now. "Is there anything they can do?" I asked.  
>"Radiation and chemotherapy. But the Liver is really damaged Char, they're putting him on the transplant list. It's acute in the worst way." Cooper told me. "They're having him sent to st. Ambrose." Cooper told me.<br>"I'm on my way. What room is he in?" I asked. Addison had stopped in my doorway.  
>"610." Cooper told me.<br>"Okay, I'm coming." I said and hung up.  
>"Charlotte what's wrong?" Addison asked as I frantically packed up my stuff.<br>"Trenton's cancer is back and it's attacking his liver." I said breaking down completely. Addison wrapped me in a hug.  
>"You and Cooper are the strongest couple I know. You guys can get through this. And Trenton is such a fighter. Everything will be okay." She told me.<br>"Addison, they put him on the transplant list." I sobbed. Addison continued to comfort me.  
>"Leukemia again?" She asked. I nodded.<br>"Cooper said it was acute in the worst way." I told her beginning to try and compose myself.  
>"Come on i'll drive you over to the hospital." Addison offered. I nodded and followed her out to the car. "So Amelia is pregnant." Addison told me trying to ease the tension on the way to the hospital.<br>"Wow. How far along?" I asked.  
>"About five weeks." Addison told me.<br>"Wow, we're all about five weeks apart." I observed. She nodded.  
>"She's only having one though." Addison told me as we pulled up to the hospital. I ran up to Trenton's room. He was asleep with about a dozen wires attached to him. Cooper was staring at him intently. He glanced up at me when I came in.<br>"He doesn't even look that sick." Cooper remarked. I sighed and plopped down in a chair.  
>"What are we going to do Cooper? I found out today that I'm having twins." I said running my hand through my hair. Cooper smiled.<br>"Twins?" He asked grinning. I nodded.  
>"Twins." I told him.<p> 


	33. A Giant Gift

**Alright guys, I know this one is really short but bear with me. Next chapter will be much larger! Please Review!**

Five weeks later

Trenton had been taking treatments like crazy and still needed a liver. I was definitely showing at 15 weeks. Anthony wasn't exactly happy about the twins. Mason was excited and Trenton thought it was pretty cool too. He was a trooper. He was still hanging tough but it was definitely obvious that he was sick. Almost every night he was throwing up and miserable from treatments. Thankfully he was responding well and the cancer wasn't spreading. Today I had an appointment with Addison to find out the sexes of the twins. She was rather large now at 21 weeks. Whitney and Nathan were so excited to meet the triplets.

"Anthony still hasn't gotten on board with the twins?" Addison asked and squirted the gel on to my bump.

"I think he's afraid that we'll forget about him." I said. Addison nodded and looked over the ultrasound.

"Well Charlotte, baby A is a girl and baby B is a boy. You got your girl!" Addison said smiling. I nodded.

"That's four boys." I noted. Addison nodded.

"It is a lot." Addison agreed. Addison grimaced and rubbed her stomach.

"Addison?" I asked.

"They're fighting. It's like a boxing match." Addison complained. I nodded sympathetically. "God they're really kicking today." She said closing her eyes tightly.

"Would it help if you laid down?" I asked. Addison nodded. I got down off the exam table and let her lay down on it. She rubbed her stomach for awhile and finally relaxed. She sat up slowly.

"It passed for now." She sighed. I smiled.

"It must be tough having three kids kicking you all the time." I mused.

"You'll understand soon." Addison nodded.

"I'm not looking forward to it. Have you and Mark discussed names?" I asked. Addison nodded and ran her hand over her stomach.

"Gannon is a top contender for boy names." Addison told me.

"That's an unusual name." I mused. Addison nodded.

"We're also thinking about Jacob or Ethan or Liam." Addison told me. I nodded.

"I like Ethan." I mused.

"Well if we don't use it feel free." Addison joked. I smiled.

"I'll keep that in mind."

"How is Trenton?" Addison asked.

"He's doing okay. As good as he can for being stuck in a hospital on dialysis. He's bored out of his mind and sick as a dog. Every time he starts to feel better he has another round of chemo and its all down hill again." I said sadly. Addison nodded.

"He's a fighter though. Is his cancer spreading?" Addison asked. I shook my head.

"Thankfully no." I told her. Addison smiled.

"That's good." Addison told me. My phone rang and I answered Cooper's call.

"Coop, is Trenton okay?" I asked.

"Char he's great. They've got him a liver." Cooper told me. I smiled.

"Are you serious?" I asked.

"I'm serious. They're taking him up to the OR soon, the liver is being harvested now." Cooper told me.

"I'm coming!" I said and hung up. I ran out of the room without bothering to grab my purse and got to Trenton's room as fast as I could. Trenton's face was beaded with sweat and hair stuck to his forehead in various spots. He smiled at me weakly.

"Hey momma. I got a liver." Trenton said. I smiled and nodded.

"Yes you did. Are you nervous?" I asked. Trenton shook his head.

"No I'm brave mom." He told me. I rolled my eyes.

"It's okay to be nervous bud." I told him. Trenton nodded.

"I know, but really I'm not scared. I know God has it under control." He told me smiling. I smiled. The nurse came and took him up to the OR. Cooper wrapped me into a hug.

"Come on Char. Lets go wait with the others." Cooper said and led me into the waiting room.


	34. We're All Alright

Two Weeks Later

"How are you feeling Trenton?" I asked when I walked into his room that afternoon. He smiled and flipped to the next page in his book.

"Good. I hate that I'm missing so much school. I don't want to be held back." Trenton said. I smiled sympathetically and sat down on the edge of his hospital bed.

"I'm sorry kiddo. Whatcha reading?" I asked.

"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows." He told me and went back to reading. He was so intelligent and such a hard worker. I hated that he had to go through all this pain. Thankfully now that he had a new liver the cancer seemed to be gone. They hadn't found anymore since the transplant. Mainly they were just going to run a few more treatments just in case. He was pretty much cancer free again though. Cooper and I had decided to let Trenton pick the boy name. He really liked Mitchell Cooper Freedman. Cooper and I both liked Mitchell, but Cooper was still on the fence about naming his middle name after him. Anthony suggested Mitchell Anthony. Which made all of us chuckle. As far as the girl we were leaning towards Athena. Cooper came into the room.

"Trenton! My main man! How's it going kiddo?" He asked and kissed me on the cheek.

"It's going good. This book is fantastic. I have to tell Uncle Sheldon thanks next time I see him." Trenton said enthusiastically. Cooper pulled another book out of the brown bag he was carrying and sat it down on Trenton's tray.

"I brought you another book for when you finish that one." Cooper told him. Trenton momentarily sat down the book he was reading to look at the one Cooper had brought him.

"Dude! I've been wanting to read that one! Thanks dad!" Trenton grinned.

"You're welcome kiddo." Cooper smiled.

"What is it Trent?" I asked.

"Heroes of Olympus." Trenton said excitedly holding it up for me to see. Mason came tromping into the room in his baseball uniform.

"You missed it mom, I hit a home run." Mason grinned.

"Nice. Solid!" Trenton said giving Mason a high five.

"Sorry buddy. I was at Anthony's soccer game." I shrugged. Mason sighed.

"I know. It's okay, but you gotta come to my next game!" He said. I nodded.

"Me and dad will swap next time." I promised him. Addison poked her head into Trenton's room.

"Charlotte can I talk to you?" She asked. I nodded and stood up.

"What's up? It better not be work related, I took the week off." I said once we were in the hallway.

"Amelia thinks Riley's pregnant." Addison said.

"What? Riley like just had her first period seven weeks ago." I said shocked.

"Yeah, but she hasn't had one since." Addison whispered.

"She's only thirteen! I can't believe children are sexually active at that age!" I said slightly disgusted. Addison shrugged.

"I guess so, it kind of scares me." Addison admitted.

"God I hope Mason isn't sexually active. I know Trenton's not, poor kid can hardly stay healthy long enough to talk to the girl he likes." I said shaking my head.

"What should I do? Amelia wants me to talk to her and see if I can get anything out of her." Addison asked freaking out.

"I guess you talk to Riley." I shrugged. "I mean what else can you do. She's going to need support if she is. And you know for the majority of the pregnancy Amelia is going to give her the cold shoulder if she is pregnant. God can you imagine, Riley would be pregnant at the same time as Amelia." I said. Addison shook her head.

"There is no way, there is no way Riley is pregnant." Addison said shaking her head. Callie came up to us dragging her feet along the way.

"Wow Cal, you look like crap." I remarked.

"Gee thanks." Callie said.

"What's wrong?" Addison asked.

"I just really don't feel good." Callie groaned.

"Did you and Jake use condoms?" I asked. Callie glared.

"Yes." She snapped. I threw my hands up in surrender. Addison felt her forehead.

"You're a bit warm." Addison remarked.

"Oh great. Just what I needed on the day Pete and I have a date." Callie groaned.

"Wait, what? What happened to Jake?" I asked.

"We weren't officially dating, but we stopped seeing each other last week." Callie shrugged. "Pete is so much better in bed anyways." Callie grinned.

"Careful with Pete. He's got good sperm. He got Violet knocked up with Lucas forever ago." I warned. Callie shot me another death glare.

"You know Charlotte I really don't like you today." Callie snapped. Anthony ran up and wrapped his arms around my legs. He was short for his age.

"Momma!" He smiled.

"Hey, you and Uncle Mark done getting ice cream with Whitney and Nathan already?" I asked. Anthony nodded.

"Yes, it was very good. Tell Uncle Mark tank you." He told Addison. She nodded.

"I'll be sure to do that." Addison told him smiling.

"You wanna go see Trenton?" I asked Anthony. Anthony nodded and took my hand. I smiled and led him into Trenton's room.

"Trenton!" Anthony exclaimed and jumped up on his bed. Trenton smiled and put his book down.

"Hey Ant!" Trenton grinned. I don't know why I just noticed, but Trenton had really crooked teeth. I rolled my eyes at my weird observations and went back to enjoying the moment.

"Whatcha reading Trent?" Anthony asked. Trenton patted the space right next to him on the bed.

"Come here and I'll read some out loud to you." Trenton offered. Anthony nodded and crawled up next to Trenton. Trenton began to read aloud and even Mason leaned in to listen. Cooper wrapped his arms around me from behind and kissed my cheek.

**Just a fluffy chapter for you guys! I'm sorry it took so long to update. Junior year was so hectic and I had been spending a lot of time recently with my amazing boyfriend. But I'm on summer break now so I should update more now. Hope you enjoyed! Please review!**


	35. Silence and Falls

Four weeks later

I groaned and sat up. I felt like a whale but then I thought about how Addison must feel and I felt better. Which sounds awful I know, but it was true. I was twenty one weeks pregnant and the twins were very active. They were always fighting each other. Addison went on maternity leave last week so things at work were pretty boring for me. Addison had become my best friend. Callie and I were pretty close now too. But Addison was my best friend. I had never associated myself with girls before Anthony, Trenton, and Mason came along. I had never had a girl best friend growing up in Alabama. There was too much drama. But now I bonded over having kids. My kids had become my life. I used to be some crazed workaholic, but now I spent a ton of time with my kids. Running Mason to baseball and Anthony to soccer. Taking care of Trenton was almost a full time job. He was out of the hospital now thankfully and they hadn't found anymore cancer. The oncologist had declared him cancer free. We were ecstatic and now all of our attention was focused on getting ready for the twins to arrive. We still hadn't officially picked out names. Of course we were still letting Trenton pick the boy's name. Of course Cooper and I had the final say, but we were letting him come up with the names and then the whole family would vote. Tonight Trenton was going to submit his final choices and we'd vote tonight. No one had even really started thinking about what to name the girl. Cooper still really liked Athena but I wasn't so sure. I finished up my work at the office and headed out. I stopped by Addison and Mark's house on my way back to our home. Addison opened the door when I rang the bell. She looked tired. Her hair was pulled up into a messy bun, her tshirt hardly fit over her stomach anymore.

"Hey Charlotte." She said.

"How are you?" I asked.

"Exhausted and fat. You?"

"Same." I laughed. Whitney came into the living room.

"Aunt Charlotte!" She exclaimed wrapping me in a hug.

"Hey kiddo. How are you?" I asked.

"Great! I love having momma home." Whitney beamed. I smiled.

"Where's Nathan?" I asked.

"He's upstairs playing with his cars. Do you want me to go get him?" She asked.

"Sure." I said grinning. Whitney nodded and ran upstairs. I smiled.

"Addison, your kids are more and more adorable each day." I told her. Addison smiled and rubbed her stomach.

"Thanks. Nathan worries me though. He's going through this stage where he doesn't talk to anyone but Whitney. I can't get him to say anything, neither can Mark." Addison told me worriedly.

"Maybe he's worried that you won't love him anymore once the triplets come?" I suggested. Addison frowned.

"I hope that's not it. I will always love him. He's my Nate Nate." Addison said.

"You should talk to him and remind him that you'll always love him. We had the same problem with Mason before Anthony came along." I told her. Addison nodded.

"Thanks Charlotte." Addison said. I smiled.

"Anytime." I assured her. Whitney came into the living room with Nathan. Nathan smiled when he saw me.

"Hey Aunt Charlotte." He said. I smiled.

"Hey Nathan. High five little man?" I asked. Nathan nodded and gave me a high five. My phone rang and I answered it.

"Charlotte?" Cooper asked.

"Yeah Coop?" I asked.

"It's Anthony." He said.

"What happened?" I asked.

"He fell at soccer practice. Landed on his arm. Looks like a pretty nasty break. He's in a lot of pain." Cooper said.

"Oh my baby boy. Are you guys at St. Ambrose?" I asked.

"Yeah in the ER." Cooper said.

"Where are Mason and Trenton?" I asked.

"They're at Sam and Naomi's house." Cooper said.

"Okay, I'm coming." I said and hung up.

"What is it?" Addison asked.

"Anthony fell and broke his arm pretty bad." I told her.

"Oh my gosh. Poor Anthony." Addison said sadly. I nodded.

"I gotta go be with him. Cooper said he was in a lot of pain." I told her standing up from the couch. Nathan and Whitney gave me a hug.

"Tell Anthony I hope he feels better soon." Whitney said. I smiled.

"I will sweetie. Bye Addison." I said and left. When I got to the ER I found Anthony and Cooper in a bed near the nurse's station. Anthony was moaning and crying in pain. Cooper was trying but failing miserably at getting him to calm down. I sighed and sat down next to Anthony's bed. I took his unwrapped hand and held it tight. I stoked his hair with my other hand.

"Momma it hurts." Anthony cried.

"Shh, baby I know. I know baby. I'm so sorry. It's going to be okay. I pinky promise." I said softly. Anthony whimpered.

"When are they coming to set his arm?" I asked.

"They're still waiting on the x-ray results to come back in." Cooper told me. I sighed and moved my hand down from Anthony's hair to stroke his tearstained cheek. Callie came over to us with Anthony's x-rays.

"How does it look?" I asked.

"Bad. His radius is broken clean through and his elbow is fractured. I need to go in and reset the radius." Callie said.

"When?" Cooper asked.

"Right now." Callie replied. I nodded and kissed Anthony on the forehead.

"Let's do this." I said. Anthony glanced nervously at Callie.

"I want green." Anthony told her. Callie smiled.

"I can do that for you." She said. Anthony smiled slightly and nodded.


	36. The Same Day

Five weeks later

Anthony stomped his foot and shook his head in protest. He folded his arms across his chest they best he could with is arm in a bulky full arm cast.

"I don't want to go the doctor." He said stubbornly. I sighed.

"It's not so bad. Aunt Callie just needs to see if your arm has healed the way it's supposed to." I said trying to reason with him. Trenton squatted down to eye level with Anthony.

"It's not that bad Anthony. I promise. I've done it before, and I wasn't lucky enough to have someone as awesome as Aunt Callie do my arm." Trenton said. Anthony adjusted his glasses.

"Promise?" Anthony asked Trenton. Trenton nodded.

"Promise." He said. Anthony glanced at me before looking back at Trenton and nodding.

"Fine." Anthony agreed. I smiled.

"Thank you." I told him. Trenton shrugged and slowly stood up. His incision site still hurt him sometimes, and squatting just then probably hurt.

"Trenton has to come." Anthony said. Trenton laughed.

"I'll come if it makes you feel better." Trenton agreed. Anthony smiled. Mason came downstairs looking tired.

"Oh look who decided to grace us with his presence." I teased.

"Hah. Hah." Mason said annoyed.

"Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed." Trenton murmured.

"Whatever." Mason said and opened the fridge. Cooper came into the living room and sat his messenger bag down on the couch. He leaned in and kissed me on the lips lightly before kissing my stomach.

"You're home super early." I remarked. Cooper shrugged.

"What time is Anthony's appointment?" Cooper asked.

"We were just about to leave." I said.

"Oh okay. Well be safe. Don't let anything happen to Zachary and Allie." Cooper said and rubbed my stomach. I nodded.

"I won't. Come on Ant." I said and herded him out the door. Callie x-rayed his arm and decided that we could take the pins out but he still needed to be in a full arm cast. Anthony didn't like when Callie pulled his pins out. He cried saying it felt weird, but as soon as they were out he relaxed. He did really good about not moving his arm while Callie re-casted it, this time in blue. I took Trenton and Anthony for ice cream afterwards. Anthony was almost done when my phone rang. I answered Addison's call.

"Hello?" I asked.

"Hey, it's Mark." Mark's voice said.

"Mark, why are you calling from Addison's phone?" I asked.

"Addison's in preterm labor." Mark said.

"She's six weeks premature, that's not too bad. How far dilated is she?" I asked.

"Like three centimeters, anyway, I figured you'd want to be here. She wants you here, cause you guys are close, and we were hoping when you're done visiting, you could take Whitney and Nathan home too, we need someone to watch them for a while, the triplets might have some complications." Mark said.

"Sure, no problem. I'll be there soon." I said and hung up.

"What's wrong mom?" Trenton asked.

"Aunt Addison is in labor." I told him.

"What's labor?" Anthony asked.

"When you're older Squirt." I said. "Come on, you guys will have to finish in the car." I said standing up from the table. One of twins kicked in response. I rubbed my stomach, I did not appreciate that. We loaded up the van and drove home. I decided to drop Anthony and Trenton off first before I went to see Addison. I felt another hard kick once we got home about seven minutes later. Cooper noticed when I brought Anthony in.

"Charlotte are you okay?" He asked concerned. I nodded pushing him away.

"It's just them kicking. I'll be back later with Whitney and Nathan." I told him. He nodded still uncertain.

"Alright, I love you babe." He said and kissed me lightly on the lips. By the time I got to St. Ambrose I had felt the pain again. Some part of me knew it wasn't just kicking but I was too scared to admit it because I was only 26 weeks. So I ignored it, and decided they were just Braxton-hicks. I found Addison's room with ease. She was sitting up in bed with Whitney and Nathan on either side of her. They were looking at a picture book. Nathan still wasn't talking. She glanced up when she heard me enter.

"Hey Charlotte." She said and smiled.

"Hey, how are you feeling?" I asked.

"Good, epidurals are great." Addison said. I smiled.

"Yeah, they are." I said trying not to grimace or tense up as another pain hit my stomach.

"Charlotte are you okay?" Addison asked. I nodded.

"I'm great." I lied. Addison didn't buy it for a second.

"Whitney why don't you and Nathan go see daddy. He's in his office. Go straight there and have daddy text me when you get there." Addison told them. Nathan and Whitney nodded and hopped down from Addison's bed and ran out. "Charlotte be honest. Are you okay?" Addison asked.

"It's just Braxton-hicks." I told her.

"You're having contractions?" Addison asked.

"Braxton-hicks. It's too early." I said stubbornly.

"How frequent have they been?" Addison asked. I looked down at my shoes. "Charlotte." Addison prompted.

"Six minutes between each. Like clockwork." I said.

"Charlotte you're in labor, I know you're scared but your water hasn't broken yet, maybe there's still time to stop the contractions. If you get admitted now." Addison said. I sighed and nodded. Addison grimaced slightly as one of her own contractions rocked through her body. "Epidurals only help so much." She murmured. It only took twenty minutes for them to admit me and get me started on steroids to mature the twins' lungs and something to hopefully stop the contractions. I was scared out of my mind, if they couldn't stop the contractions, the twins were in big trouble, they would have to fight for their lives most likely, as if Anthony's birth hadn't been scary enough. All of the kids were at Naomi and Sam's. Even Whitney and Nathan. Addison was about eight centimeters now and I was pissed that I couldn't be there for her right now. I kind of had my own problems right now though. About thirty minutes into my stay as a patient I felt wet, and to my horror, I realized my water had broken. The twins were coming now.


	37. Close the Book(Epilouge)

Epilogue

Three Years Later

Trenton kicked the soccer ball with huge power to his teammate Anders who faked out a defender and kicked it into the goal. Trenton jumped high into the air in celebration. Mason couldn't have looked more bored. Anthony was playing soccer off to the side with Whitney and Nathan. Zachary and Allie were running around Whitney, Anthony, and Nathan which was aggravating them. Andrew and Michael were sitting in front of Addison and Mark and kept pushing and shoving each other. Bailey Marie sat in Addison's lap. The Montgomery-Sloan triplets were three and so were Zachary and Allie. They had been born on exactly the same day. Callie and Pete sat behind us. Pete and Callie had been married for two years now and Callie was six months pregnant with a baby girl. They were going to name her Abigail Addison Wilder. Addison was a bit beyond stoked to have her name be their baby's middle name. It kind made me laugh how excited she got. Mason and Trenton were sixteen now and Juniors in high school. Nathan, Whitney, and Anthony were seven now and in the second grade. Having five kids was rough but we were doing well. Addison and Mark were struggling a bit with their five. But having all of their kids in pairs I could imagine how things would be harder to manage for them. Mason had braces now, Trenton had contacts, and Anthony had developed type 1 diabetes. Zachary was ADHD, and Allie was shy. Each kid was unique in their own way and Cooper and I couldn't love them more. Trenton and Mason we're both being heavily scouted by college recruiters for their athletic talents. Mason was an awesome Wide Receiver and a First Base man. Trenton was an outstanding right striker and a kicker for the football team. They were both really smart too. Anthony had been accepted into the gifted program at his elementary school as well as Whitney. Nathan wasn't as academically advanced as Whitney and Anthony, but being a boy he didn't mature as fast as Whitney so Addison wasn't worried. Anthony was just abnormally advanced for being seven. We were so proud of our kids. We loved them more than anything. Trenton stole the ball from the opponent and quickly spun the ball to go the other way towards the goal his team was scoring on. He dribbled hard and fast with intense concentration. He saw his opponent sliding in for a side tackle and reacted just in time to dodge it and still maintain possession of the ball. The crowd was on their feet now screaming. Cooper and I had our hands tightly intertwined. Trenton spun out another defender and kicked the ball into the goal. It hit the top post and bounced in. there was no way the goalie could have stopped it. The crowd went nuts and Trenton did a backflip in celebration. After kick off, his friend Anders stole the ball quickly back and dribbled for a few steps before passing it to Trenton's other friend Leo. Leo weaved in and out of defenders before passing to a wide open Trenton. Trenton started to dribble closer to the goal to get a better angle. He was going back to boot it into the goal when an unseen defender side tackled him to the ground. Callie gasped as we watched his foot snap and bend inward in a very bad way. Trenton immediately grabbed his foot and writhed around in pain. Callie shot up out of her seat but Pete stopped her.

"They've got team medics babe. Calm down." Pete told her. I gripped Cooper's hand. This was not good. This was the second time Trenton had been hurt like this. He could lose Scholarships over this. The medics ran out to him and got him to relax and not move around so much. Anthony was beside us now.

"Mommy what's wrong?" He asked.

"Trenton's hurt bad squirt." I told him.

"Oh that's not good." Anthony said worriedly. I ruffled his hair.

"No it's not squirt." I told him nodding. Zachary and Allie appeared next to us now.

"Why is Trenton on the ground mommy?" Allie asked quietly.

"He's hurt baby girl." I said and reached down to pick her up. She wrapped her arms around my neck and buried her face in my chest. Allie was a very shy girl, but she was so sweet. I had a special bond with her seeing as she was my only girl. I watched the medics carefully examine Trenton's foot. Trenton was still laying down. They hadn't even tried to get him to sit up which worried me immensely.

"Do they think he's got a concussion too or something?" I asked. Cooper nodded.

"Most likely." He told me. I sighed. This was not good. Trenton had been through a lot as a kid, and the last three years had probably been the most carefree and easy he'd ever gotten to experience. But now all of that was over, he was hurt again. My heart broke for him. He never really truly got to enjoy his adolescence and now his teenage years were starting to crumble. After a few more minutes of painful waiting they got Trenton to sit up. His team doctor Mr. William drove the golf cart over and the other team trainers and medics helped Trenton to the back of it. Cooper and I took that cue to make our way down to the field house where we knew they were taking him.

"Can you guys watch the kids?" Cooper asked Addison, Mark, Callie, and Pete. Pete and Callie nodded.

"We'll take them. Addison and Mark have their hands more than full." Pete said taking Allie from my arms.

"Okay, thanks. We'll come get them after we know Trenton is stable." Cooper told him. Pete and Callie nodded.

"Not a problem. It's great practice." Callie said and rubbed her stomach. Cooper and I smiled and left. When we got to the field house Trenton was in Mr. William's office laying down on the exam table. He was fighting back tears. His face was red and scrunched up with his eyes firmly shut.

"How is he?" I asked quietly. Mr. William looked up from his clipboard.

"We were just about to call you to meet us at the hospital, but if you'd like you can take him yourselves. It looks like a bad break." Mr. William said.

"We'll take him." Cooper said smiling. Mr. William nodded and left the room. Trenton still didn't open his eyes.

"Trenton buddy, can you open your eyes for me?" I asked and moved his bangs off his forehead. Slowly he opened his baby blue eyes. They were red from crying.

"Come on bud. We're going to take you to the ER." Cooper told him and carefully picked him up. "Lord, you're getting too big for this." Cooper joked and carried him out of the field house. Once we got to the hospital we ordered a rush be put on Trenton's x-rays. They gave Trenton a lot of Morphine. About an hour later we got his results. His right ankle had been broken in three places and he required reconstructive surgery, his right foot was also broken in three separate places on the top. Trenton was a mess, this meant no way no how could he get a soccer scholarship now. His foot and ankle wouldn't be a hundred percent again by next year for his Senior season.

"Mom what am I going to do?" Trenton asked once they had casted his foot and ankle and were in the process of discharging him.

"We'll worry about that later." I told him smiling.

Three weeks later

Trenton steadied himself on his crutches and made his way down the stairs carefully. Mason went in front of him to catch him if he fell. Mason had been helping Trenton a lot. It was very brotherly of him. Anthony was mad because now Trenton couldn't practice with him, but in all Anthony was being really helpful as well. Zachary and Allie didn't really get it, though Allie didn't like seeing Trenton in pain. Trenton and Mason sat down at the dinner table with us and smiled.

"Who wants to say grace?" Cooper asked. Zachary's hand shot up.

"I want to daddy!" He said excitedly. Anthony rolled his eyes. Cooper smiled.

"Go for it Zach Attack." Cooper acknowledged. Zachary bowed his head and started to pray. Almost as soon as he said amen my phone went off. Cooper shot me a look. I rolled my eyes and got up from the table to answer Addison's call.

"Hello?" I asked.

"Hey Charlotte, we need you at St. Ambrose, Callie's in labor." Addison said.

"Oh wow, that's so exciting. I'm on my way." I told her and hung up. I went back into the dining room.

"Who was that momma?" Mason asked.

"Aunt Addison, apparently Aunt Callie is in labor." I told everyone. Cooper smiled.

"Well go on babe, I'll hold down the fort." Cooper said. I nodded and ran out. I met Addison at the ambulance bay. She greeted me with a coffee.

"Thank you." I said taking a sip. She smiled and led me upstairs to the maternity ward. "How is she?" I asked as we ascended the stairs.

"She's about five centimeters dilated and handling the pain really well actually." Addison said. I nodded.

"That's good. How's Pete holding up?" I asked.

"Uh, well. He absolutely hates seeing her in pain, so I don't know if he'll be any help at all once she starts pushing." Addison laughed. I grinned.

"I wouldn't be surprised if he faints!" I said busting into a fit of laughter. Addison joined in.

"Now that I would like to see!" Addison joked and opened the door into Callie's room. Callie was lying in bed on her side and gripping on to the railing for dear life.

"Callie are you okay?" I asked going over to her. Callie nodded. Her face was scrunched up in pain and red from crying.

"Yeah. Just a really painful contraction. Give me a second." Callie said grimacing. I took her hand and let her squeeze mine until the contraction passed.

"Where's Pete?" I asked when she relaxed, signaling that the contraction was over.

"I sent him to get ice chips. He was on the verge of a panic attack." Callie said. I smiled and glanced at Addison. She stifled a laugh. Callie tensed up unexpectedly and cried out sharply. Addison went on high alert.

"Callie, what's wrong?" Addison asked.

"It's not supposed to hurt like this." She cried, tears fell rapidly from her eyes. I offered her my hand again and she squeezed hard.

"Callie I need you to roll over on your back so I can check your cervix." Addison told Callie as calmly as she could muster, it was evident she was freaking out as much as I was. Callie whimpered and rolled over on her back. Addison checked her cervix. "Damn. The placenta is tearing." Addison said. She glanced at the fetal monitor that was now beeping loudly. "And the baby is in distress. We need to do a c-section now." Addison said and ripped her gloves off. She paged a delivery team and prepped Callie. I paged Pete to meet us in the OR and sent Cooper a quick text to update him. Pete met us in the OR. He held Callie's hand the whole time and whispered encouraging words to her. Callie was scared out of her mind. What seemed like hours passed before Addison pulled out a baby girl. She cried instantly and made her presence known. Callie smiled in relief. Then suddenly Callie's eyes rolled back and her heart monitor went crazy. Addison handed the baby off and frantically worked on Callie.

"Callie! Callie!" Pete yelled.

"Charlotte get him out now!" Addison told me. I grabbed Pete and started to drag him out.

"NO! I'm not leaving my wife!" Pete yelled.

"Pete, listen to me, you can't help her right now. You have to trust Addison." I told him.

"I can't lose her!" He cried.

"Pete listen to me, you won't lose her. Come on now. How about we go sit with your new baby girl?" I suggested as the pediatric team pushed the baby's incubator past us out of the OR. Pete swallowed hard but nodded. I smiled and led him outside of the OR. After thirty minutes of agonizing waiting just staring at Pete hold his daughter, Addison came into the Nursery. Pete's head snapped up and he looked at her with deep anticipation.

"She's going to be fine. I stopped the bleeding without having to remove anything. So she'll make a full recovery and you can still have other kids later if you want." Addison said smiling. Pete grinned.

"Thanks so much Addison. Can I see her?" Pete said standing up with his little girl sound asleep in his arms. Addison nodded.

"You can bring the bundle of joy too." Addison said. Pete grinned and followed Addison out of the nursery. I followed close behind them. When we got to Callie's room she was just opening her eyes. She smiled so wide when she saw Pete and her baby. Pete knelt down by Callie to show her the baby. Callie's face lit up like a candle.

"She's so perfect. Look at what we did." Callie told Pete happily. Pete smiled.

"She's amazing." Pete agreed.

"Piper Addison Wilder." Callie said smiling.


End file.
